The First Time
by Rainbowbookends
Summary: Former TV star and fashion-forward Zoë Rivas is in her senior year of high school at Degrassi. She is the co-class president, and is an out lesbian dating Syrian refugee Rasha Zuabi. Zoë is ready to take the next step with Rasha, but is Rasha ready for that? With a few embarrassing mishaps and help from her friends, Grace and Tristan, Zoë gets her answer. Zoe/Rasha. Zasha.
1. That Awkward Moment When

**A/N: This story coincides with season 3 of Degrassi Next Class, with a few changes...**

 **1\. Tristan was in a coma for only a couple of weeks. He woke up towards the beginning of summer and is okay now. Zoë took over the presidency while he was in the hospital and during the Summer so that he could have a bit of a break. During this new school year, he and Zoë are co-presidents.**

 **2\. The play is still about the bus accident and Tristan being in a coma, but Tristan is okay and is at Degrassi during the entire preparation for the play. Miles hooked up with Lola during two weeks that Tristan was in a coma, but he forgave Miles. He's not playing coma boy because he thought that it would be too hard for him, so Rasha is still playing the part.**

 **3\. In the series Rasha and Zoë make up after the opening of the play, but in this story the opening night isn't the Monday after the wedding. Instead, it's in a couple of weeks. Zoë and Rasha still make up that Monday though, they just do it during school. This story starts the next Wednesday after that time.**

* * *

Zoë had been staring at Rasha the whole time they were working on their lab project. …well, the whole time Rasha had been working on their lab project. Zoë hadn't paid attention at all. She couldn't focus on anything other than her beautiful girlfriend who was sitting right next to her. All she wanted to do was kiss her and touch her and… _other things._ They hadn't taken that next step yet, but she was more than ready. Even though she had already experienced her first time with a girl, it just wasn't the same since Grace was straight and wasn't really into it. I mean, it was definitely better than having sex with a boy. Like, infinity times better. But still, it felt like something was missing. And that something was a connection. She felt that connection with Rasha, and she knew Rasha felt it too. They've never talked about it, but she just knew. There was no way all of that kissing was one-sided.

Zoë continued to stare at Rasha as she poured the chemical into one of their test tubes.

 _She looks so cute with her goggles on, concentrating on getting the measurement just right,_ Zoë thought to herself, _her focus face is adorable…her whole face is just adorable._

Zoë moved her eyes down to Rasha's mouth.

 _Not to mention her smile is the prettiest smile I've ever seen. I wonder if she's ever had braces..._

Zoë's eyes wondered further down her girlfriend's body until they reached her chest.

 _God her boobs look so perfect. Whatever bra she's wearing is really doing its job._

She looked at the girl's jeans.

 _And those jeans are just the perfect amount of skinny. They hug her body so well. Her ass looks amazing. God._

Zoë moved her eyes around the front of Rasha's body between her legs. She licked her lips, lost in her own fantasy. She felt that all too familiar ache between her own legs as she thought about all of the things she wanted to do to her girlfriend. She thought about Rasha saying her name as Zoë worked her magic. _Zoë. Oh yeah, Zoë. Right there. Mmm. Zoë. Zoë. Zoë…_

"Zoë!"

Zoë shot up as she was ripped away from her fantasy.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Rasha said, waving her hand in front of Zoë's face.

"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

Rasha laughed and shook her head. "I can see that. I had to do this whole lab by myself."

Zoë's eyebrows scrunched together as she looked at the Syrian girl with confusion. "Wait. You did the whole lab by yourself?" She looked around the room. Everyone was packing up their stuff to get ready for the bell to ring. A pang of guilt washed over her. "I'm so sorry Rasha. I didn't mean to make you do all of the work. I'm a terrible lab partner."

"Yes you are," Rasha paused before continuing, "But you're cute, so it's okay." She smiled and winked.

Zoë smiled sheepishly at the compliment. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you looked like you were enjoying whatever fantasy you had me in," she said as she smirked at Zoë knowingly.

Zoë was taken aback. She could feel her heated cheeks turning pink. "Uhh what do you mean by fantasy? I was just thinking about…um…what I'm going to have for lunch." _Yeah, smooth Zoë. She'll believe that one for sure._

Rasha laughed. "Yeah right! Your face totally looked like you were thinking about getting it on with me. Plus, I saw you staring at my body… _everywhere."_ She looked down between her legs, then back up at Zoë, indicating that she knew exactly what Zoë was staring at. _"_ It's so obvious. Also, your goggles are a little fogged up." She giggled as she pointed at the goggles on Zoë's face.

Zoë's eyes widened as she yanked the goggles off. She hadn't even noticed that they were foggy. She let out a nervous chuckle, unsure of what to say. Luckily, the bell had rung just in time to save her from that awkward conversation. Zoë grabbed her purse and rushed out of the room as quickly as she could.

After a few minutes of powerwalking, she made it safely to her locker. As she stood there trying to catch her breath, she shut her eyes and rested her forehead against her locker. _That did not just happen._

"Hey Zoë!" Winston shouted as he rushed towards her.

"What do you want!" Zoë snapped.

He drew his hands up in the air in defense. "Whoa, what's your problem?"

Zoë sighed. "Sorry, it's not you. I'm just stressed out."

"Yeah, no kidding. I just wanted to ask you if we could get together and work on our history presentation after school? Since it's due tomorrow and all. I was going to ask you at the end of Chemistry class, but you ran off so fast that I didn't have a chance."

"Yeah, sure. We can do it in the student council room after school."

"Okay, cool." Winston studied Zoë's face. "Hey, are you okay? You're acting kind of weird."

Zoë put on a fake smile. "I'm okay. I'm just stressed out about this test we have coming up in math class. I heard it's going to be really hard." She lied.

Winston laughed. "Is that all? If you need any math help you can always ask me. Winston Chu always gets a guaranteed A."

"Thanks Winston. That's sweet of you, but I think I just need to sit down and study the material on my own. You know, so I don't get distracted."

"Okay, if you say so. See you after school then."

Zoë smiled at him as she watched him walk down the hall. She waited for him to turn the corner before dropping the corners of her mouth. She opened her locker, grabbed her textbook and slammed the door shut.

"High school really is the worst," she said to herself as she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her textbook against her forehead.

* * *

Zoë spent the next class period thinking about how she was going to face her girlfriend at lunch. She couldn't just completely ignore her. That would just make things way worse and even more awkward. But she also couldn't face Rasha knowing that she knew how much of a horndog Zoë was.

 _What if she wants to break up with me? Or worse, what if she tells everyone? Not only will I be the school's lesbian president, but I'll be the school's_ pervert _lesbian president. And that does not look good on college applications._

Zoë's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the bell, signaling that it was time for her to go to lunch. _Well, I guess it's time to face my doom._ She grabbed her purse and her textbook and walked to her locker. She put her book up and turned around to begin her dreadful walk to the cafeteria. When she reached her destination, she stopped and sighed, crossing her arms over her stomach to sooth the nauseous feeling she had. _Well, here goes nothing._ She walked into the cafeteria and got in the food line. She looked around but didn't see Rasha anywhere. _Maybe she had some impromptu play rehearsal and wouldn't be at lunch._ Zoë let out a sigh of relief. She paid for her food and walked over to the table she usually sat at. She froze as she saw Rasha sit down at the table.

"Hey Zoë! There you are," Rasha said with a smile. "Come sit down." She patted the space on the table across from her.

Zoë smiled nervously and slowly sat down.

"You'll never guess what happened to me in history class. Mr. Perino was passing back our papers and said that I had the highest grade in the class! He even told everyone that they should follow my example. Can you believe it? _Me._ Maybe high school isn't so bad after all." She chortled.

Zoë's smile went from nervous to shy as she nodded before quickly looking down at her food. She grabbed her sandwich and took a bite, trying to avoid eye contact.

Rasha looked around the cafeteria before looking back at Zoë with a confused look on her face. "Hey, is everything okay?" she said in a soft voice. "You're acting kind of weird."

"Everything's fine." Zoë took another bite of her food, still looking down.

Rasha's face dropped. "Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?"

Zoë quickly looked up. "What? No! I'm not mad at you. You haven't done anything wrong at all. You've been pretty great actually."

"Then what's the problem? Because you'll barely even look at me."

Zoë put her sandwich down and anxiously exhaled. She looked at Rasha, who was waiting for an answer. "I'm just…embarrassed, I guess." Zoë looked away.

"Embarrassed about what?"

"You know…about what happened earlier," Zoë said in a hushed tone.

Rasha was clueless.

"…with the goggles?"

Rasha's face softened as she finally realized what Zoë was talking about. She couldn't help but smile at how cute her girlfriend was. "Zoë," she grabbed the brunette's hand, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's completely natural, and I'm flattered."

"Really?" Zoë was surprised.

"Of course! Besides, I'm just glad you were thinking about me and not somebody else."

"So, you don't think I'm a pervert?"

Rasha laughed. "Of course not. Why, are you?"

"No! Well, I don't know. I do think about you a lot…"

"So what you're telling me is that you're a horny girl who just wants to get in my pants?"

"Oh god." Zoë closed her eyes and drew her hands over her face. "I'm just going to go now." As she began to stand up, Rasha grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

"Zoë, relax! I'm just messing with you. You're a teenager. You're supposed to be thinking about sex a lot. I think about it too."

"You do?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah, all the time. Especially when you wear this skirt." Rasha smirked as she reached under the table to touch Zoë's thigh, moving her hand up towards the bottom of the girl's skirt. She had only intended to tease Zoë. She expected her to give a sarcastic laugh and push her hand off, but she never did. So the short-haired girl kept moving her hand up under her girlfriend's skirt, eyes locked onto Zoë's. She could hear Zoë gulp. Now Rasha was the horny one getting turned on. She moved her hand up farther under her skirt until she felt Zoë's panties. She could feel the brunette's wetness, and if she concentrated hard enough, she could even smell it. She moved her finger around a little bit, wanting to get even more of a reaction from her girlfriend. Zoë was holding it in pretty well. She was breathing pretty hard, but still keeping it cool. Rasha wanted to touch the brunette so badly, but for now she just settled for touching her panties. She didn't want to get too ahead of herself in the middle of the cafeteria filled with students. She studied her girlfriend's face as Zoë's eyes slowly shut.

"Hey guys. What are you doing?" Goldi asked as she set her tray down next to Rasha's.

Zoë's eyes shot open as Rasha quickly pulled her hand back.

"Uh, Zoë was just...praying."

Goldi scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at Zoë. "Really? I didn't know you were religious."

"Um, yeah. I was raised Catholic you know." Zoë said as though it were obvious, trying to play it cool.

"Oh yeah. I guess I just assumed you weren't practicing." Goldi shrugged. "Anyways, so I was thinking that we could all hang out sometime this weekend. What do you guys think? We could play a game at my house, or go to the mall...or see a movie. I heard there's a really good movie out about this boy who discovers that his dog is actually his sister who died in a car accident…"

Zoë and Rasha smiled at each other, completely ignoring Goldi's tangent.


	2. Lesbian Sexcapades

It was the last class period of the day, and it felt like the longest. Zoë couldn't concentrate. She stared at the clock, waiting for the minute hand to reach the twelve. She couldn't take it anymore. Her girlfriend had been teasing her since lunch. They had computer science together last period and Rasha spent the whole time grazing her hand against Zoë's leg. She had to excuse herself to the washroom at one point, much to Rasha's amusement.

 _Only one more minute left._

As Zoë continued to stare at the clock she felt her phone vibrate in her purse. She pulled it out and saw that it was a text from Rasha. She smiled and quickly opened the message.

 **Meet me outside the prayer room after school ;)**

Zoë's smile turned into a grin.

 **I'll be there. Be sure to bring your lips.**

Right after she sent the text the bell rang. She stuffed her phone in her purse and jumped out of her seat. She swiftly spun around, bumping into Tristan.

"Whoa! Where's the fire?" He said.

"Sorry Tris. I just really have to go. I'm meeting up with someone."

He scoffed and smirked as he crossed his arms. "Meeting up with a certain sexy short-haired Syrian girl for some hot action?"

"What? No! I'm just… I have to talk to Perino about something and I want to catch him before he leaves. Now move." Zoë tried to push him out of the way, but he pushed her back.

"Yeah right! You're a terrible liar Zo. You're meeting up with Rasha for something sexy. It's all over your face."

She looked away trying to hide the obviousness of the situation.

"I don't know exactly what that sexy thing is, but I'm sure I'll get the details later."

Zoë rolled her eyes.

"Have fun! And be safe." He added with a stern finger.

"Shut up!" Zoë pushed him out of the way, successfully this time. "I'm leaving now. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"You better have juicy details for me Rivas! Every last one!" Tristan shouted at Zoë as she rushed out the door.

"Yeah, yeah." Zoë waved without looking back. She began to walk towards her destination. Thankfully she didn't have to stop at her locker. She walked through the door of the student council room and noticed that it was empty. She walked to the back and opened the door of the prayer room.

"Rasha?" She looked around, but there was no response.

She walked back out and set her purse down on the small table just outside the prayer room door. She heard the door of the student council room open, so she quickly turned around and saw Rasha.

"Hey! There you are!" Zoë said. "I was wondering where you-"

Rasha smashed her lips against Zoë's, cutting her off. This kiss was unlike any they've ever had before. It was rough and sloppy, like both of them needed more…and they did. Zoë put her arms around Rasha's neck and Rasha put her arms around Zoë's waist. They heard voices getting closer outside the door and quickly broke apart to see if anyone had seen them. Nobody did. Zoë was about to go lock the doors, but instead Rasha grabbed her hand and pulled her into the prayer room. She shut the door behind them and pushed Zoë against the back wall, kissing her even harder than before. They passionately kissed for a couple of minutes before breaking apart to catch their breaths.

"Wow, someone's in the mood," Zoë said in a sultry voice.

"Sorry," Rasha tittered. "Is it too much?"

"No, no. Not at all. I've just never seen you so…direct. It's kind of hot." She smirked.

"Well, you turn me on so much. I've been thinking about you all day."

"I've been thinking about you too." Zoë kissed Rasha again, this time more gently.

Rasha lightly bit Zoë's bottom lip, causing a moan to escape Zoë's mouth.

"Madame President! How unladylike of you. Now who's the one getting turned on?" She joked.

"Shut up and kiss me," Zoë begged before smashing her lips back onto Rasha's.

As their lips continued to wrestle, Rasha began to feel the wetness coating her center. She needed friction. She began to slightly rock her hips into Zoë's, hoping Zoë would do the same in response, but instead Zoë pulled away and looked at her with gleaming eyes.

Rasha began to panic. "What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, I was just curious…have you ever done this before?"

The corner of her mouth quirked up. "What? Made out with a girl in the school's Muslim prayer room? I can't say that I have."

"Ha ha," Zoë laughed sarcastically. "Technically it's also the QSA room. And no, that's not what I meant. Have you ever…you know…" She looked at Rasha hoping that she had caught on to what she was asking, but her girlfriend just stood there with a confused look on her face, so Zoë continued, "…more than kissed a girl?"

Rasha gave Zoë a comforting smile. She wanted Zoë to feel comfortable talking to her about stuff like this. "Once."

Zoë nodded. She wasn't really shocked by the answer.

"And you?"

"Once," Zoë said, mimicking the girl's previous answer.

Rasha nodded. There was an awkward silence. "So, are you saying that you want me to more than kiss you right now? Because I would hate to be that typical sexy girl that teases you all day long without doing you the favor of fixing it," she said smugly.

Zoë shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Just kiss me, okay?"

Their lips reconnected. At first it was gentle and passionate, but it quickly became more aggressive. This time Zoë was the one to rock her hips. Rasha got the hint, and knew that it was Zoë's way of telling her that she wanted more. Without breaking the kiss, Rasha moved her hand in between their bodies and pulled the front of Zoë's skirt up for easier access. She put her hand down Zoë's thong and felt the pool of wetness that coated the outside of her folds. It was like reaching into a thick lake. She smiled into Zoë's lips and let out a chuckle.

Zoë quickly became self-conscious. "What?" she panicked. She was afraid that she hadn't shaved enough. After all, she wasn't expecting this to happen today, especially not at school.

"You're very wet," Rasha whispered seductively into Zoë's ear.

With those words, Zoë felt a wave of heat rush to her center.

"Let me clean that up for you," the short-haired girl said before kissing her girlfriend once more. She dropped down to her knees and reached under Zoë's skirt. Ironically, it was the same white skirt that she was wearing what they first kissed. She slowly pulled Zoë's black silk thong down her legs. Zoë spread her legs to give the girl better access. The Syrian pulled the front of the brunette's skirt up and over her head as her eyes met with the wet mound in front of her. It was perfect. It wasn't too bony or too big, but was just the right size with a little bit of hair on it, which was just the way the Syrian girl liked it. She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose. She was hit with that heady scent that she loved so much. That's one of the things she loved most about women; the way they smelled. She pressed her lips against Zoë's center and kissed her gently a few times. Then, she slowly dragged her tongue up Zoë's slit.

Zoë closed her eyes and let out a breathy moan. She rested the back of her head against the wall and reached up with her right hand to grab the wall shelf above her. "Yep, I'm definitely gay," she whispered to herself before an unexpected whimper escaped her lips.

Rasha heard her and smiled. She was glad to know that she was doing her job in reassuring her girlfriend of her sexuality. She drew circles with her tongue on Zoë's enlarged clit.

"Mmm yes. That feels so good." Zoë reached down with her left hand and put it on Rasha's head, which was covered by her skirt. She pushed her girlfriend's face into her center as she thrust her hips back and forth. Rasha licked her harder and faster, making small circles.

"Oh fuck! Right there! Don't move!" Rasha continued her movements and made sure not to change anything she was doing.

Suddenly, the door swung open. "Hey Zoë, are you in-"

"Shit! Winston!" Zoë shouted.

Rasha started to pull her head away, but Zoë pushed her head back down. There was no way she was letting her lose that spot.

"I, uh…I…" Winston stammered, staring wide-eyed at the girls.

"Get out!" Zoë raged.

"Yeah, sorry." He quickly turned around and left, shutting the door behind him.

"Keep going," Zoë said, "I'm still close."

Rasha complied and continued to massage the brunette's clit with her tongue. This time, she made circles in the opposite direction.

"Ugh yes…Keep going Rasha…Fuck that feels so good…I'm so close…Keep going," Zoë spat out between breaths.

Rasha could feel her girlfriend getting wetter. She knew it was only a matter of time before the brunette's release. Her tongue was getting tired, but she made sure to keep a consistent rhythm.

Zoë felt the heat rush through her body and her abdomen tighten. "Shit, Rasha!" she yelled as her walls began to contract. Rasha kept licking, helping her girlfriend ride out her orgasm. It was about thirty seconds before Zoë finally patted Rasha's head, signaling her to stop. Rasha pulled her head out from under the skirt and looked at her girlfriend, who was panting in an attempt to catch her breath. She had her eyes shut tight. The short-haired girl softly kissed the brunette's cheek.

Zoë opened her eyes and said between short breaths, "That…was...amazing." After a few more moments of heavy breathing, she finally caught her breath and let out a huge sigh. Her mouth curved into a smile as she opened her eyes and looked at her girlfriend. "Damn."

They both laughed.

"You're really good!" Zoë said in almost a shocked tone of voice.

"I've never gotten any complaints," Rasha winked. "But we should probably leave before someone else walks in." She chuckled.

"Good point. Let's go." Zoë slid her thong back on, then grabbed her girlfriend's hand. They opened the door and walked out.

"Finally," said Winston, who was sitting at the large table outside the prayer room.

"Um, what are you doing here? Were you spying on us?!" Zoë crossed her arms as she waited for an explanation.

"Um, no. I was just sitting here waiting for you." He smirked, "Although, I did hear you. You were pretty loud"

Zoë and Rasha looked at each other, then Zoë looked back at Winston. "Why were you waiting for me?"

"Seriously? Remember when you said we could work on our presentation after school?" Winston motioned at his laptop and books that were in front of him on the table. "You said to meet you here in the student council room, but I didn't see you. Miles said he saw you and Rasha go in the prayer room, so I looked for you. I figured I'd let you two…you know… _finish_ , so I waited for you out here."

"Wait, so Miles told you that he saw me and Rasha, my _girlfriend_ , go in here _alone_ , and you didn't think that information would warrant a knock?" Zoë pursed her lips as she waited for a reply.

"Well, I didn't think that you guys would be getting it on in the prayer room." Winston pointed at the room behind them with his hand.

"Technically it's also the QSA room," Zoë added matter-of-factly.

Rasha was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "Okay," she laughed nervously, "I'm just going to go and let you two work on your presentation. I'll text you tonight Zoë." Rasha kissed her girlfriend on the cheek, and then smiled at Winston before walking towards the door.

Zoë watched Rasha walk out of the room, staring at her ass. Again, those jeans. Zoë smiled as she thought about what had just happened between them. She could still feel the wetness between her legs. She snapped herself out of her daydream and looked over at Winston, who was smirking at her. She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just do this." Zoë hastily sat down in the chair next to Winston. "Okay, what have you got so far?" She asked.

"Just the first three slides."

Zoë took the laptop and looked over the slides. "Hmm. Okay, this looks good. I was thinking that maybe we could incorporate some YouTube clips into the presentation. After all, our presentation is about current events and how the media portrays them. What's more current than YouTube? They don't have to be long clips. Maybe just some videos showing examples of different news sources. We can show the biased ones and the unbiased ones and see how they compare with each other. We could even try to find the same story released through different news outlets! Not only would we be able to compare the different evening news sources to each other, but we could also see how the television news sources compare to written sources like newspapers, online articles, tabloids, etc. But we would have to find something big enough that everyone would want to cover. Hmm. What do you think?"

Zoë looked at Winston who was staring off into space, deep in thought. "Hello, Earth to Winston. Are you listening to me?" She nudged his arm.

"Huh, what?"

"Seriously? Did you hear anything I-" Zoë looked down and noticed something protruding in Winston's pants. She jumped out of her seat. "Whoa!"

Winston grabbed one of his folders and quickly put it over his lap.

"Oh my god!" Zoë exclaimed repulsively. "Is that…are you…are you getting _aroused_ by me?!"

"No!" Winston yelled. "It's not you, I swear!"

"Okay, then what? That doesn't just happen for no reason!"

"I don't know. I was just thinking about…um…something that I saw earlier. I was just daydreaming."

Zoë studied his face, trying to see if he was telling the truth. "Oh yeah, and what was that? I know you're not getting any action at home, and nothing interesting like that ever happens at Degrassi..." Then it hit her. "Oh god. Ew ew ew," Zoë said as she paced back and forth, shaking her hands in the air as if there was something on them. "Seriously? You were thinking about me and Rasha and got a freaking _boner_?!"

Winston sat there looking guilty. He couldn't even deny it.

"What, so you think we're lesbians just to turn guys on? You think we're just here to fulfill the disgusting male fantasies about us, is that it?"

"No no! I don't think any of that, honestly! But I am a straight guy, and it's natural for me to get turned on by seeing two women together. It's basic biology!"

"You know what, I blame the porn industry. Most of the lesbian porn isn't even realistic. With their super long acrylic nails, and foot long dildos. Not to mention scissoring, I mean, that's not even a thing! We don't do any of that. It's like lesbian porn is made for men, but where's the lesbian porn made for us actual lesbians huh? It's so frustrating," Zoë huffed.

"Y-you watch p-porn?" Winston looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"Okay, gross! Now you're thinking about me watching porn?! Can you stop thinking about me and get that thing down already? It's seriously grossing me out."

"I'm sorry! It doesn't exactly work like that. I can't help it. It's not really something I can control. It just happens whenever I get…you know…in the mood."

Zoë thought about it for a second. She figured it must be annoying to have to worry about your genitals popping up out of nowhere whenever you thought about sex. If she had a penis, she'd probably have a boner all the time, especially around Rasha. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about that, and she could think about sex whenever she wanted without anyone knowing. That had to be so embarrassing. She began to genuinely feel bad for him.

Her face softened. Alright, well, why don't you just go to the bathroom and…I don't know, take care of it or something. I can wait here for you and work on the slides.

"Okay, thanks for understanding Zoë. I'll be right back." Winston ran out of the room with the folder still covering his crotch.

"And that's why I'm a lesbian," Zoë whispered to herself as she sat back down and began browsing through YouTube.


	3. Girl Talk

After an hour of working on the presentation, Winston and Zoë were finally finished. Zoë walked out of the student council room and headed towards the front door of the school, when she looked over and saw Rasha sitting on the stairs listening to her music. Zoë rushed over to her.

Rasha looked up and saw her girlfriend walking towards her. She pulled her earbuds out of her ears. "Hey! How did the presentation go?"

"It was…awkward. But we got it done."

"Oh really? Awkward because of us?"

"Erm, something like that." Zoë thought it would be best to spare Rasha the details of Winston's faux pas. "Why are you still here? I thought Goldi would've taken you home by now."

"She had a doctor's appointment that took a little longer than she thought. But she's on her way now."

"Oh okay, cool. Mind if I wait with you then?"

"Actually…" Rasha thought for a second, "Since you're here, do you want to help me out with something?"

"Uh, sure?" Zoë said raising an eyebrow. She was curious as to what her girlfriend was up to.

"Okay then, follow me." Rasha grabbed Zoë's forearm and led her down the hall.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

They finally reached their destination…the girls washroom. Rasha looked both ways down the hall before yanking Zoë inside.

Zoë looked around the washroom, then at Rasha. She was very confused. "Um, what are we doing in here?"

Rasha stepped towards Zoë and pulled her in. Their lips touched and they shared a kiss. When they pulled away, Zoë looked at her surprised. Much like their unexpected first kiss.

"Well, since you left me so high and dry, I was thinking, maybe you could help me out? I was going to fix the problem myself, but since you're here…" Rasha's eyes wondered down to her crotch. Then she looked back up at Zoë, making sure she got the hint. And she did.

Zoë gave her a devilish look. "Oh, is that all? I think I can help with that," she said playfully before pushing Rasha back towards the counter. She grabbed her girlfriend's face and smashed their lips together. They kissed for about a minute before Zoë abruptly stopped.

"Wait, how long until Goldi gets here?" She asked, heavily breathing.

Rasha looked at her phone. "About five minutes," she answered in the same manner.

Zoë nodded, "Then we better make this quick." She reached for Rasha's belt and began to unbuckle it. She pulled the zipper down and shoved her hand down the girl's jeans and boyshorts. It all happened so fast that Rasha felt her stomach drop. She was so turned on and her girlfriend was so unbelievably hot that it took her brain a second to catch up with her body. Zoë rubbed her fingers against her girlfriend's clit with her right hand as she reached her left hand behind the girl's short hair and pulled her into a greedy kiss.

A guttural moan escaped Rasha's mouth. "Ugh, that feels so good," she murmured into Zoë's lips.

"Yeah? You like that?" Zoë asked in a breathy tone.

Rasha could feel the brunette's hot breath on her lips, which turned her on even more. "Yes, keep going."

Zoë moved her fingers faster on the bundle of nerves. She reached her head around and sucked on Rasha's neck.

"Faster," Rasha pleaded.

Zoë moved her fingers as fast as she could, which felt amazing to Rasha in contrast to feeling Zoë's tongue moving slowly up her neck. The Syrian girl could feel herself getting close.

"Yes Zoë! Right there. Oh god!" She put her right arm around Zoë's shoulders as she rocked her hips back and forth into her hand. She put her left hand behind her on the counter for support.

The girls were so focused on each other that neither of them noticed the door open.

"Fuck Zoë!"

"Oh my gosh!" Goldi shrieked.

Zoë and Rasha both looked over at her and quickly pulled apart.

"Goldi!" Rasha rapidly pulled her zipper up and buttoned her pants.

Goldi covered her eyes and turned around. "Wow. Um, okay. I'm sorry. I just came in here to use the washroom."

Zoë huffed, "Seriously? Can't a couple of girls get some privacy around here?"

Goldi spun back around. "Excuse me? This is the girl's washroom. Last time I checked, it was here to use as a _washroom._ Not for some kinky lesbian sexcapade." She folded her arms and looked at them sternly.

Zoë sighed. "I'm sorry Goldi, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that, there's nowhere for us to have any privacy together. The only time Grace isn't home is when she's at play rehearsals, which Rasha goes to as well."

"Yeah, and your parents are always home, so we can't have any alone time there." Rasha added. "…Not that I would take advantage of their kindness by bringing a girl into my bedroom without their permission." She chortled nervously.

Goldi looked at them with soft eyes. "I get it. You guys should have somewhere that you can be alone with each other that isn't at school."

"That would be nice," Zoë agreed softly with disappointment in her voice.

"I wish there was something I could do to help."

"It's okay," Zoë said, "it's not your problem. We'll figure it out."

Goldi smiled at them apologetically. "Are you ready to go Rasha?"

Rasha looked at her girlfriend. "Um, actually," she looked back at Goldi, "can you give us a minute?"

"Seriously?" Goldi whined.

Rasha clasped her hands together and begged. "Pleaseee? You walked in at a…bad moment. Just two minutes, three tops, I swear." She poked her bottom lip out and made a puppy dog face at her friend.

Goldi sighed. "Fine. I'll go use the other washroom."

"Thank you! You're the best friend a girl could have!"

"Yeah yeah, come find me when you're done. I'll be at the stairs by the front of the school." She opened the door to leave, "And be sure to wash your hands thoroughly!" she added before walking out and closing the door behind her.

Rasha looked at Zoë. "We only have three minutes."

"Then we better make this quick." Zoë lifted the short-haired girl onto the counter and pulled down her pants and underwear in one swift motion before attaching her lips to her girlfriend's clit. She sucked as hard as she could, eliciting a loud moan from Rasha. She moved her tongue up and down, then side to side, then in circles as fast as she could. It wasn't long before Rasha was reaching her breaking point.

"Oh my god!" Rasha felt her walls tighten. "Zoë!" she exclaimed as the contractions began. She could feel a pool of wetness rush out of her body, and Zoë lapped up every last drop.

"God, you taste so good," Zoë said, wiping her mouth.

Rasha gave the brunette girl one last kiss. She could taste herself in Zoë's mouth. "Thanks for the favor." Rasha winked. "I should go meet up with Goldi."

The girls thoroughly washed their hands and walked out of the washroom. They gave each other a quick peck on the lips and parted ways.

Rasha walked down the hallway with a smile on her face, thinking about what had just happened. She finally reached the front door and saw Goldi sitting on the stairs.

"Finally." Goldi grabbed her bag and stood up. "Let's go home."

They walked to the parking lot and got in Goldi's car. They had been in the car for three minutes and neither of them had said a single word. Rasha was beginning to worry.

"Goldi? Are you weirded out by me being gay?" She looked over at her friend, awaiting a response.

"What? No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous. You know I love you and want you to be happy. Why would you ask that?"

"Because you haven't said a single word since we've gotten in the car. I don't know, it just feels like you're silently judging me or something. Or maybe you're grossed out?"

Goldi laughed at the ridiculous thought. "Rasha, I'm not grossed out by you, and I'm not judging you. Although I will admit, it was a bit shocking to walk in on you and Zoë doing those things. But, you're almost seventeen. You're old enough to know whether or not you're ready to take that next step with Zoë. Just because I believe I won't be ready to have sex until I'm married doesn't mean you have to do the same."

Rasha subconsciously unclenched the muscles she hadn't realized she had been squeezing. "I'm really relieved to hear you say that. You really are my best friend. I couldn't stand it if you were disgusted by me."

Goldi put her hand over Rasha's. "I could never be disgusted by you Rasha."

Rasha smiled at her friend. "Okay, so if you're not weirded out by me and Zoë, then why were you being so quiet?"

Goldi debated whether or not to tell her. Her friend had been very honest with her, so she felt like she owed her the same. "Well, I was just wondering…I don't mean to sound ignorant, but how do two girls…do it?"

Rasha's eyes widened. "Seriously? You're asking me for a lecture in lesbian sex 101?"

"I mean, I can imagine what you can do to pleasure each other, but if sex is widely defined as intercourse then how do you know when you've had sex and when it's just foreplay? Are you always going to be a virgin?"

Rasha understood why Goldi was confused. She was asked this question a lot by her straight friends back in Syria, and she even spent several nights questioning this herself. "Well, I think it depends on the person to define what sex is for them. Some lesbians think that they've only had sex when a strap-on is involved. Others think they've only had sex when they've had an orgasm. For me personally, I don't believe Zoë and I have actually had sex yet. I think what we did in there was just foreplay. Today was the first time we've ever done anything more than kissing, and I believe it was just that. More than kissing. When we're in a bed, naked under the sheets, looking into each others eyes and connecting on a whole new level, that's when I believe we'll have had sex for the first time."

Goldi sat there and thought about Rasha's answer. "That makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up. I've always wondered, but was too afraid to google it in fear of coming across some filthy websites."

"Goldi, you're my friend. You can ask me anything." Rasha smiled.

Goldi smiled back. "Wait, so do you watch porn? How else did you know what to do with Zoë? Have you had sex before with a girl back in Syria, or was that stuff with Zoë your first time doing anything sexual? …Have you ever had sex with a guy?! How do you know if sex with a girl is better than with a guy? How do you even know that you're really gay?!" Goldi had so many burning questions that she had been wanting to ask her lesbian best friend since she came out to her.

Rasha rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Okay, let's start with the first question…"

* * *

"What's got you so happy Rivas?" Grace asked as she walked into the guest room and threw herself onto the bed next to Zoë, who was sitting cross-legged with her math book in front of her.

Since leaving the school, Zoë had a grin on her face that she couldn't get rid of. "Rasha and I…fooled around," Zoë said excitedly.

"Seriously?" Grace asked as she sat up and faced Zoë, mirroring her seated position. "At school?"

"Yeah, in the QSA room after school."

"You mean the Muslim prayer room."

Zoë threw her hands in the air. "Why does everyone keep saying that? It's the QSA room too. Everyone makes it sound like we had gay sex in the middle of a church service or something."

"Which you would do," Grace teased. She looked over and noticed that Zoë was not amused. "Okay okay, geez. I'll refer to it as the QSA room."

"Thank you." Zoë laid back against the headboard.

"So, how was it? Did you guys go all the way? Did you rip all of her clothes off?" Grace asked with a smirk.

"Yeah right! Like I would risk that at school. We had all of our clothes on and just, you know…did stuff..."

Grace stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"...like touching," Zoë said shyly.

"Touching with fingers? Or touching with tongue..." Grace grinned.

"Maybe both," Zoë said shyly, sitting up to continue working on her homework.

"You totally did! You sly dog," Grace said as she hit Zoë's arm with the small pillow that was next to her. "So how was it?"

"Well, it was amazing…until Winston walked in."

"Yikes. That sounds awkward."

"Oh, it was. And the worst part was that afterwards he kept imagining us together, doing it…and got _aroused."_

"By aroused, you mean…"

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean." Zoë shivered thinking about it.

"Well, it's not like guys can really help that. Teenage boy hormones are notorious for causing boners at the worst time, or so Zig tells me."

"Yeah I know. I'm just tired of guys using us lesbians as eye candy for their inaccurate fantasies. Do you know how many times a day some guy at Degrassi tells me and Rasha that he has just what we need in the bedroom? Or how many times some pervert asks us to kiss for him? It's disgusting and I'm sick of it. And to know that one of the few decent guys I know thinks about us like all of the others. It's just messed up."

Grace looked at her sympathetically. "That's the price of being hot lesbians out of the closet in high school I guess."

"I know. Ugh, it just sucks." Zoë closed her textbook and threw her pencil on top. "Oh, and Goldi caught us doing it again in the girls washroom."

"Holy shit Zoë, how many times did you guys do it at school?!"

"Only twice! I swear."

Grace stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief.

"What? Teenage girls get horny too! And it's been awhile since I've had that kind of pleasure that wasn't courtesy of myself."

"Did she freak?" Grace was intrigued.

"No, she was actually pretty cool about it. I thought she was going to flip out…or pass out, but she was pretty calm. Well, calm for Goldi at least."

Grace nodded, her eyebrows were raised in surprise.

"She actually let us finish."

"Okay, TMI. So, why are you guys doing it at school and not right here in your comfy bed?" Grace patted the empty spot on the bed next to her.

Zoë turned her body around to face Grace. "Well, it's not like we have any time alone to ourselves. Your mom is always home at nights and the only time you're out of the house is for rehearsals, which Rasha is at too. And we can't do it at Goldi's. If her parents catch us they would probably kick Rasha out."

"Hmm." Grace thought about it for a second. Zoë had a point. There was rarely any time where she and her mom weren't home. She looked over at Zoë, who had a doleful look on her face. Then she had an idea. "If I said I could get my mom out of the house, how soon would you want me to do it?"

Zoë looked up at her excitedly. "As soon as possible. I really want to have a special night with Rasha. I think we're ready for that next step."

"Then how about tomorrow night I take my mom to a movie? We can go see that new Ryan Gosling movie together. She's been bugging me about some mother-daughter time anyways."

Zoë grabbed Grace's arm. "Grace, that's perfect! Oh my god, thank you thank you THANK YOU! I owe you big time."

"Yeah yeah, I'll let you know how you can repay me when the time comes."

"I have to text Rasha." Zoë jumped off of the bed and rushed over to the desk where her phone was charging. She picked it up and began to frantically type.

Grace's forehead furrowed with concern. "Have you guys talked about this? I mean, even though you've done stuff at school, having full on naked sex in your bedroom is a little different. It's more intense and intimate. You might be ready for that, but are you sure Rasha is?"

Zoë stopped typing and looked over at her friend. "Well, we haven't exactly had a conversation about it. But I think she's ready."

"You better be sure. You don't want to make her feel pressured into doing something she's not ready for."

Zoë deleted what she had typed and set her phone down. "You're right. What should I do? Do you think this is a conversation we need to have in person? What do I even say? 'Hey Rasha, Grace and her mom will be out of the house tomorrow night. Wanna come over so we can get naked and have sex?'"

"Why not?" Grace asked genuinely.

"Grace, I was kidding! I can't say that!"

The goth laughed, "Zoë, she's your girlfriend. If you were really ready to have sex, then you would be able to talk to her about it openly and honestly."

Zoë sighed. "You're right. I'll ask her tomorrow and see what she says." She walked towards Grace and sat back down on the bed.

"Cool. You talk to Rasha and let me know what she says. If she says it's a go, then I'll talk to my mom about the movie. Deal?"

"Deal." They shook hands. Zoë smiled. She was possibly going to have sex with her girlfriend tomorrow night. Then it hit her _…_ she was possibly going to have _sex with her girlfriend_ tomorrow night. Suddenly she felt nauseous. Grace noticed the sudden change in Zoë's mood.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"Grace, what if I'm not good? What if she sees my body and doesn't find me attractive? What if this ruins everything and suddenly we're not even friends anymore? Then we'll have to spend the rest of high school ignoring each other in the halls." The thought alone made Zoë want to throw up. She couldn't handle rejection like that again.

"What makes you think she won't like it?"

"Because…you know. You didn't."

Grace began to feel bad. She didn't mean to lower her friend's self confidence. She just realized that she wasn't gay like everyone had been telling her she was. "Zoë, I never said you weren't good."

"No, it was just bad enough to make you realize that you were straight." Zoë smashed her pillow over her face as she let her torso fall back onto the mattress.

Grace rolled her eyes and took the pillow off her friend's face. "Look, I can't help that I don't like girls. Just like you can't help that you don't like guys. Think about all of the guys that you've had sex with. They weren't _bad_ at it. You just didn't feel anything from it. That's not their fault."

She had a point. Zoë had sex with Drew, Miles, even Zig. They weren't really bad at doing the deed. In fact, Zoë thought she actually liked it at the time. It wasn't until Grace that she realized what sex could really feel like. How amazing it could really be. And how sexy girls actually were. And Grace wasn't even one hundred percent into it. The little rendezvous she and Rasha had at school was the best sexual experience she's ever had, and it wasn't even the real thing. It could only get better from there…right?

Grace continued, "If it makes you feel any better, I totally would've liked it if I were gay. You have a killer bod."

"Really?" Zoë was surprised. "You mean that?"

"Of course dummy." Grace chuckled. "I'm sure your first time together will be amazing. Heck, just seeing you naked will probably make the girl have an orgasm," Grace said teasingly, hitting Zoë with the pillow that was in her hand.

Zoë took the pillow and hit her back before squinting her eyes at Grace. "Are you sure you're not gay?"

"Yes, I'm completely sure," Grace laughed.

"Maybe you just haven't found the right girl yet," Zoë joked.

"Har har," said Grace sarcastically.

"It's not too late!" Zoë grabbed grace's arm, "Come to our side Grace! It's more fun! We have boobs!"

Grace rolled her eyes. "I think I've had enough lesbian experiences to last a lifetime, thank you."

Zoë let go of her arm and laughed, "Okay fine."

The girls were quiet for a few moments.

Zoë looked over at Grace. "So, just to get this straight, if you were gay you totally would've had an orgasm? It's not because I was bad at it or did it wrong?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "Did Rasha have an orgasm today?"

"Well…yeah?"

"Then I think that's your answer."

"Thanks Grace." Zoë smiled. "You're a good friend."

"I know. I gave you like three orgasms that night." She boasted.

Zoë hit Grace hard on the arm, "You do realize that was only because I was thinking about Olivia Wilde the whole time, right?"

"Oh whatever! You were totally into me!"

"Yeah, yeah. You were like my default crush. I only liked you because I thought you were gay. Besides, every lesbian has a crush on her straight best friend at some point. It's practically a right of passage."

"Yeah well, I'm just glad you finally accepted yourself and that we are friends again. I really missed you."

"I missed you too." She smiled softly. "I'm glad I can talk to you about this stuff without it being weird or awkward."

"Me too."

"Now enough about me. Tell me about you and Jonah," Zoë said making kissy faces at Grace.

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. "Girls, I've got pizza!" Grace's mom yelled from downstairs.

"Oh look, dinner's ready! We better go eat it before it gets cold." Grace jumped off the bed and headed towards the door.

Zoë rolled her eyes. "This conversation isn't over. I will get details!" She followed Grace out the bedroom door and down the stairs.


	4. Liquid Dreams

"Zoë, please. I want you to fuck me," Rasha begged.

"Your wish is my command." Zoë complied. She slowly inserted her finger inside her girlfriend. She pushed it further in until it wouldn't go anymore, and then slowly pulled it back out. She repeated this process, watching the short-haired girl's facial expressions as she did so. She studied her face, getting turned on more and more each time she saw her facial muscles contort in pleasure. She added a second finger, which elicited a smile from the girl beneath her.

"Yes Zoë, fuck me harder."

Zoë began to pump her fingers faster. She could feel her own center ache as she continued to finger her girlfriend. Rasha caught onto this, so she reached down and began rubbing Zoë's clit. Both of them giving pleasure, both of them receiving pleasure. They began to vigorously rock their hips back and forth. Zoë could feel the blood rushing down her body to her core. She was so close. Rasha moved her fingers faster.

"Fuck," Zoë shouted. "Yes Rasha. I'm almost there."

"Me too," her girlfriend responded. "Ungh. Zoë. Don't stop. Zoë. Zoë..."

"Rasha! I'm gonna…I'm gonna…"

 _Beep beep beep beep_

Zoë's eyes slowly opened to the sound of her alarm. It took her a few seconds to realize that Rasha wasn't actually in her bed, and that the lump under the sheets that she was humping was actually her pillow. It had all been a dream. She threw the pillow off of the bed and sighed disappointingly before reaching over to turn off the alarm.

 _Of course I would have a sex dream._

Zoë pulled the covers off of her and sat up at the edge of her bed, giving her body some time to wake up before standing up. When she finally did get out of bed, she felt a waterfall of liquid rush out of her body.

 _Shit._

She grabbed her phone and checked the calendar. According to the app, she wasn't supposed to get her period for another week. She pulled the covers back and inspected the sheet. No stain. She looked at the crotch of her red booty shorts. There was a huge wet stain there. She couldn't tell if it was blood or if it was just wet, so she ran to the bathroom to check. She pulled down her shorts and saw that it was just a clear, wet stain. She had no idea what it was from. It didn't smell like she had peed herself. She had never been that wet before, not even when she masturbated. She began to worry.

 _What if something's wrong with me? What if I have some kind of STI and leaking weird fluids is a symptom?_

She took a shower to clean herself off. After getting dressed, she went downstairs to the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She sat down at the table across from Grace and stared at the bowl.

"Well good morning to you too," Grace said sarcastically.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Zoë pushed her cereal around with her spoon.

"What's wrong with you? Still nervous about talking to Rasha?"

"I think I have an STI," Zoë blurted out, catching Grace completely off guard.

Grace stared at her with raised eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"My life is over." Zoë dropped her face into her hands. "I didn't even think lesbians could get an STI. Her head shot up. "Oh my god," she said in a panicked tone.

"What?" Grace began to worry.

"What if I got it from Miles? Or even Zig? Or Drew? I could've gotten it from any one of them and I had no idea. Now Rasha's never going to want to have sex with me." She dropped her head back into her hands.

"Okay, slow down." Grace gently place her hand on Zoë's forearm. "What happened?"

Zoë lifted her head up. "Well, I woke up this morning and there was this fluid all over my shorts…I mean, _all over._ Like I had peed myself or something. But I hadn't."

"Well, what were you dreaming about?"

"I was dreaming about Rasha. And it was a good dream too. I mean, Grace, I dreamt that she was in my bed and we were having amazing sex. It was perfect…and hot. _She_ was hot, and gorgeous. It was amazing…until my alarm woke me up and ruined it right when it was getting to the good part…if you know what I mean." Zoë shook her head as she remembered her stupid alarm waking her up too soon. "I was even humping my pillow, and-" Zoë noticed Grace trying to stifle her laughter with her hand over her mouth. "What? What's so funny?"

"Sounds to me like you had a wet dream!" Grace laughed.

" _What?!_ Of course I didn't! Only boys get those. And last time I checked, I wasn't a boy…"

"Zoë, wet dreams aren't just for boys."

"Are you saying that because I'm a lesbian now, I'm going to get wet dreams like a boy?"

Grace raised her eyes in disbelief. She couldn't belief that her friend was so clueless. "No Zoë, I'm saying that everyone gets wet dreams. Boys _and_ girls. No matter what sexual orientation. It's a part of growing up."

"Really? We get wet dreams too?" Zoë let the new piece of information sink in.

"Yep. Some girls even get them as much as guys do."

"If we get them too, then how come nobody ever talks about it? How come we didn't learn about that in health class?"

"I guess because with guys it's different. When they wake up after a wet dream, there's going to be a mess. But with us, it just dries up, like it never even happened."

"If that's true, then how come I was all wet when I woke up? Why wasn't it all _dried up_?"

Grace smirked. "Because you had a really good sex dream." She patted Zoë's arm and chuckled.

"Oh god, this is so embarrassing." Zoë's cheeks were beginning to turn pink.

"Relax. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm sure I've gotten them too. I've had some pretty sexy dreams myself."

Zoë became interested in the change of conversation. "Oh really?" A devilish smile spread across her face. "Now you _have_ to tell me!"

"Yeah right. Besides, you don't want to hear about my straight girl fantasies."

"Um, yes. Yes, I do. Now spill!" If there was one thing Zoë loved more than cute girls, it was gossip.

"No way."

"Please Grace? I tell you everything! We're supposed to be best friends and you're holding out on me. It's not fair."

Grace shook her head and huffed. "Okay fine."

"Yay!" Zoë clapped in excitement. She rested her head on her fists and smiled as she waited for Grace to talk.

The goth girl rolled her eyes. "It was with Jared Leto and he did me from behind. Satisfied?" Grace grabbed her empty plate and walked towards the sink.

"You would like Jared Leto," Zoë said, grabbing her bowl and following suit.

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for a man bun."

* * *

Zoë parked her red Volkswagen Beetle in the school parking lot.

"Okay Rivas…calm down…you can do this…don't be nervous," she said between deep breaths.

Zoë was going to school early to meet Rasha. Grace got a ride with Jonah so they could go over some play ideas at The Dot before school, so Zoë was all by herself.

"Okay." She took one more deep breath before getting out of the car. She walked into the front door of the building and saw Rasha talking to Goldi by the stairs.

"Hey, there you are!" Rasha said as she rushed over to Zoë. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Not here." Zoë grabbed her hand and took her to her usual hiding spot…the bench under the stairs.

"Wow, this must be something really secretive. Are we planning another scheme?" The Syrian girl began to get excited.

"No, nothing like that." Zoë's palms were beginning to sweat. She had no idea how to even start the conversation. "Here, let's sit down." She sat down on the bench and looked up at Rasha, who slowly sat down next to her.

"Okay, so this is a serious conversation." Now Rasha was the one getting nervous. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's okay. It's just…I wanted to talk to you about…I mean, I wanted to ask you if…" Zoë tried to think of how to form the words, while Rasha waited with worry. "I don't even know how to say this."

"Oh no," Rasha said sadly. "Are you breaking up with me?"

"No, no! Not at all!" Zoë assured her as she grabbed the worried girl's hand to comfort her. "Quite the opposite, actually."

Now Rasha was just confused. "Okay, so if you're not breaking up with me then what is it?"

"Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it." She let out a big gasp of air. "Grace and her mom are going to be out of the house tonight so I was wondering if you wanted to come over." She blurted it out so fast that it all sounded like one big word.

Rasha grinned. "Is that all? You want to hang out tonight?" Her grin turned into laughter. "Zoë, do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Zoë had never felt so relieved in her entire life. "I'm sorry, I just didn't know how to ask you."

"Zoë, you're so silly! If you wanted to have a date night, all you had to do was ask. What, were you afraid I would say no? I'm your girlfriend. Plus, it's not like we've never been on a date before."

The brunette realized that her girlfriend hadn't caught on to what she was trying to ask her. She stood there with an awkward smile plastered on her face while she tried to work up the courage to ask, yet a second time, if Rasha wanted to have sex with her.

 _Ring_

"There's the bell. I better get to class. You can give me the details later," Rasha said before giving Zoë a quick peck on the lips and hopping off of the bench.

"Ha ha, yeah. Later." Zoë said, watching her girlfriend walk up the stairs.

" _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._ " Zoë said through gritted teeth as she smashed her notebook into her forehead. She went up the stairs and headed towards her first period class. When she got there, she threw her purse and her notebook onto the table next to Grace and sunk into her chair, letting gravity do all the work.

"Whoa. I take it the talk didn't go so well?" Grace asked.

"No, it went horrible. I told her that you and your mom would be out of the house tonight and asked if she wanted to come over."

Grace stared at her, waiting for the punchline. "…So, what's the problem?"

"The problem is that she thought I was just asking her if she wanted to come over and hang out."

"Ah, I see. I guess the difference in culture is to blame for this human margin of error?"

"Apparently. I guess I'm going to have to talk to her… _again._ It was hard enough the first time. I thought I was going to pass out."

"Look, just talk to her. And be blunt this time. Say 'Rasha, do you want to have sex with me tonight?' And that's it. No more sugar coating."

"Yeah, you're right. Ugh, why is this so hard?"

"Because you're asking a pretty girl to have sex with you and you're afraid of rejection," Grace explained, only slightly teasing.

Zoë shook her head and sighed.

 _Ring_

The teacher shut the door. "Alright class, let's begin with Shakespeare."

* * *

Rasha walked down the hall towards the girl's washroom. She had asked for a hall pass to wash her hands since her pen had exploded, resulting in ink getting all over her hand. She opened the door and saw Goldi at the sink washing her hands.

"Oh, hey Goldi. Bathroom break?"

"Yeah, I drank way too much orange juice this morning. I was just about to head back to class. You?"

Rasha held up her hand to show Goldi the blue masterpiece that resembled something Jackson Pollock would paint. "I got into a fight with my pen. And the pen won." She went over to the sink next to Goldi and began scrubbing. "Hey, before you go, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure," Goldi said wiping her hands off with a paper towel.

"You're in English class with Zoë now, right?"

"Yeah, I am. Why?"

"Have you noticed her acting weird?" She turned the water off and grabbed a paper towel.

"Not really. She seemed pretty normal to me. Why?"

Rasha threw the paper towel away and leaned back against the counter. "She was acting really weird this morning. First, she texted me to ask if we could meet early before school to talk. Then when we met up at the front of the school she dragged me down to some secluded bench under one of the staircases, as if she were about to tell me some super deep dark secret. And after a bunch of nervous stuttering, she finally asked me if I wanted to hang out tonight."

Goldi raised an eyebrow. "All that to ask you out on a date?"

"I know! It doesn't make any sense. Why would she be so hesitant to ask me that if we're already girlfriends?"

"Hmm. Well, what exactly did she say?"

"She said that Grace and her mom would be out of the house tonight and asked if I wanted to come over."

Goldi pursed her lips together.

"What?"

"Well, I don't think that Zoë was exactly asking you to _hang out_."

"You don't?" She scrunched her eyebrows together. "Then, what was she asking?"

"Based on the fact that the house is going to be empty, I think she was asking if you wanted to… _be intimate_."

Suddenly, everything made sense. Rasha closed her eyes and hit her palm onto her forehead. "I'm such an idiot." She shook her head in her hand.

Goldi took Rasha's hand away from her face. "You're not an idiot. It's just the cultural difference. Sometimes there's a language barrier."

Rasha let out a huge sigh.

"Just talk to her next class period. You have Chemistry together, right?"

"Yeah."

"So just talk to her then."

"You're right. I'll talk to her. …Wait, what do I say?"

"Tell her yes or no."

"But I don't even know if I'm ready. I told you, I've never had sex with a girl before. I've only done foreplay stuff. How do I know if I'm ready?"

Goldi thought about it. She wasn't the best person to go to for relationship problems, so she gave the best advice she could. "When you're ready, you'll know. If you trust her and you feel comfortable enough with her to go there, then I'd say you're ready. Zoë's a pretty understanding person. Just talk to her and figure it out together."

"Okay. I'll talk to her and see." Rasha nodded. "Thanks Goldi."

"Of course. Now, we both better get back to class before we get into trouble."

* * *

First period was over and Zoë was walking towards the science lab. She saw Rasha sitting at their lab station. They had about five minutes until class began, so she figured now would be a good time to clear the air.

"Hey, can we talk?" Zoë asked.

"I was actually about to ask you the same. Let's go out in the hall."

The girls walk down to the end of the hallway, which was empty.

Zoë didn't want any chance of Rasha misunderstanding her intentions again, so as soon as they reached the empty area Zoë blurted out, "I want to have sex with you." She was expecting her to be surprised or even run away screaming, but she didn't expect her to be so…calm.

"I know," Rasha admitted.

"You do?"

"I talked to Goldi. I asked her if she could help me figure out why you were acting so weird this morning, and she explained to me what it means when someone asks you to come over when nobody is home."

"Oh." Zoë was thankful for Goldi, otherwise this would have been a very awkward conversation...well, more awkward.

"The truth is, I wasn't expecting everything to move this fast. We've only known each other for two months, and I've spent the past thirty minutes trying to figure out if I'm even ready to take that next step."

"I know. This relationship is getting so intense in such a short amount of time. I've never felt this close to anyone before. I feel a real connection with you."

Rasha took her girlfriend's hand into her own. "I feel a real connection with you too. Which is why I think I'm ready to have sex with you."

"Really?!" Zoë beamed.

"Really," Rasha smiled. "Let's do it."

"Okay then!" Zoë had never been more excited for anything in her entire life. "I'll let Grace know and then give you all the details."

"Sounds perfect."

"We better get back to class before the bell rings," the brunette said trying to hide her eagerness, which wasn't working.

Rasha thought it was cute how excited her girlfriend was. They walked back to class and sat down at their lab station. Zoë pulled out her phone and texted Grace.

 **Tonight is a go!**

A few seconds after sending the message, she heard her phone vibrate on the table.

 **Nice! I'll ask my mom about the movie.**

Zoë's grin spread across her face. She was going to have sex tonight. _Real_ lesbian sex with a _real_ lesbian. Saying that she was excited was an understatement.


	5. Retail Therapy

Zoë had a spare period after lunch, which she usually spent in student council meetings. But since Winston had a dentist appointment, they agreed not to have one. So she decided to spend her spare alone in the student council room since she knew it would be empty…or so she thought.

"Hey Zo," Tristan said as he walked into the room.

Zoë frantically slammed her laptop shut. "Uh, hey Tris."

He slowly put his bag down on the table. "Um, what was what?" He pointed to her laptop.

"What was what?"

"On your laptop. What were you looking at?"

"Nothing. I was just doing some research."

He sat down at the table next to her. "I know what I saw. Were you looking at porn?!" He grabbed her laptop before she had a chance to stop him.

"Tristan! No!"

He opened it up, revealing a website containing all sorts of dildos and strap-ons. His jaw dropped. "Oh em gee."

Zoë snatched her laptop back from him. "Go ahead, laugh it up."

"As if!" He turned the laptop so he could see the screen. "Are you having sex with Rasha?! Wait…does this have to do with what happened yesterday?! You promised me details."

"We haven't had sex yet."

" _Yet_ being the key word here. So, you're planning on it?"

"We are tonight." Zoë smiled.

"And you guys are going to use a strap-on?"

"Well, we haven't exactly talked about it. I just thought I would buy one just in case."

Tristan sighed. "It must be nice to be a rich movie star who can buy whatever she wants whenever she wants."

"Yeah, well it must be nice to have parents who accept you." She quipped as she clicked through the website.

He looked at her sympathetically. "Touché. So, have you found any that you like yet?" He took control of the trackpad and scrolled through the page.

"Well, I was thinking about this purple one." She pointed at the picture. "I don't want to get one that's too realistic."

Tristan clicked on the product and examined the image. "Hmm." He scrolled down to look at the specifications. "Six inches long, one and a half inches wide, made of non-toxic, anti-bacterial Sil-a-gel. I don't know much about strap-ons, but this one looks pretty good."

"Really? You think so?"

"Totally. It's a good size. You don't want something that's too big."

"Exactly. I'm glad you're here. I have no idea what I'm doing." Zoë took her laptop back and continued to scroll through the website.

Tristan gave her a mischievous smile. "So, were you planning on using this on Rasha? …Or were you wanting Rasha to use it on you?" The only person that loved gossip more than Zoë was Tristan. Especially when the gossip was this juicy.

Zoë closed her laptop and turned to face him. "To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it. I guess I just assumed we would take turns. I do want her to use it on me, but I also really want to use it on her." Zoë bit her bottom lip.

"That sounds reasonable."

"The only problem is, I'm a little nervous to use it. I mean, I've never done that before. What do I even do? With my fingers, it's easy. I can feel around. But this is going to be a piece of silicone attached to my hips. What if I mess up? What if I put it in the wrong hole?!" Zoë pictured dozens of different scenarios, all of which didn't end well.

"Okay, breathe. It's not rocket science. Insert tab A into slot B. That's all you have to worry about."

"Really Tristan? Tab A into slot B? You think all I have to do is jam a dildo into her vagina and she'll get an orgasm? You really don't know girls, do you…"

He rolled his eyes and waved the back of his hand in her face. "Okay, whatever. You're the lesbian here. You get all the deep stuff, like her needs and how to make her feel good. I'm just here to help you with the grunt work."

"Okay, so help me."

"Alright, alright. Well, you're probably going to want to practice the thrusting motion. You're going to be using muscles you're not used to using at an angle you're not used to using them at. It's a lot of work, and can get tiring very quickly. The last thing you want is to get too worn out before she's able to finish."

"Okay, good point."

"And don't just practice in the air. Practice with the strap-on. Maybe try thrusting it into something that'll cause some resistance. That way, you'll get a better idea of what it'll feel like."

Zoë took out her phone and started taking notes. "Practice thrusting motion with strap-on…got it."

"As for getting it in the right hole, just feel around with your hand to guide it. Or you can just ask her to put it in for you."

"Oh that would be hot. I like it," Zoë nodded as she typed into her phone. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Don't pressure her into doing it. It's a big deal, especially if she's still a virgin. You may have had sex with guys, but that doesn't mean she has. Read her facial expressions. Even if she says yes, make sure her face isn't saying no."

"Well, of course Tristan. I'm not going to force her to do something she doesn't want to do. That's the difference between a guy with a real dick and a girl with a strap-on; for us, using a strap-on is about pleasing the other person. We can't exactly feel it, so it's all about her and what she wants."

"Hmm, I never actually thought about it like that. Alright, I think that's it. …Oh, maybe you should use a condom."

"Um, a condom? What for? It's not like I can get her pregnant," Zoë laughed.

"No, but are you really going to want to get up and clean that thing after each use?"

He had a point. "True. I guess a condom does make it easier to clean up. But how do I know which ones to buy? I don't know anything about condoms."

"You can leave that to me. I'll go with you to the store to help you buy some. I need to get some more anyways."

"So, does that mean you'll go into the adult store to buy the strap-on for me too?" Zoë grinned, batting her eyelashes.

"Um, what? No way. Absolutely not."

"But Tristan, you're old enough. I'm not eighteen yet. They won't let me into the store."

"So why don't you just buy it online?"

"Because if I buy it online the earliest it'll arrive is tomorrow. And Grace is only getting her mom out of the house tonight."

Tristan groaned.

"Please?" She begged. "All you have to do is walk in, grab the box, pay, and walk out. Simple. I'll even give you the money in cash."

"Fine. But you so owe me for this."

"Deal!"

* * *

After school, Tristan and Zoë drove to the grocery store. They walked down the row until they found the aisle they were looking for; 'Family Planning.'

"Here it is," Tristan said as he began to walk down the aisle with Zoë following closely behind.

"Whoa. I didn't realize there were so many options."

"Yeah, now you know how we feel when we see the feminine products section." He dragged his finger across the different boxes. "Alright, let's see. We're looking for a regular size that's a good brand, so…ah, here we go." He grabbed the box and handed it to her. "These are just the normal kind, but they have other kinds too."

"Like what?" Zoë asked as she examined the box.

"Ribbed, studded, anatomic…and then you have the fun ones like warming, glow-in-the-dark, flavored, edible…"

"I didn't realize there were so many options!" She looked at all of the boxes on the shelf and quickly became overwhelmed.

"Since it's your first time, you should probably just go with the ones you have there. No need to start diving into the fancy stuff right away."

"Okay, good. I had no idea how I was going to choose."

Tristan was looking for a box to get for himself, when an elderly woman who had overheard their conversation walked up to them.

"Oh, how sweet. Is it your first time together? I just love it when youngsters take the time to do things like this together. Usually the guys buy the condoms themselves, but that's sweet of you to go with him sweetie. Now remember, being safe is very important. Make sure you're on the pill too dear. Sometimes these things slip off unexpectedly. That's how my husband and I ended up with five kids." The woman laughed at her own joke while Tristan and Zoë tried to stifle their own laughter. "You kids take care now." She pushed her cart down to the end of the aisle and turned the corner.

Tristan and Zoë busted out laughing.

"I can't believe that woman thought we were together," Zoë said, still laughing.

"I know right? She must have been blind, deaf, and dumb." He quickly grabbed the box he needed. "Alright, let's go."

They walked up to the cashier and set the boxes down on the belt.

"I'll get both of them," Zoë stated.

"Really? Thanks Zo."

"It's the least I can do. You've helped me out so much."

"Buying the condoms for your boyfriend here? How romantic of you dude," the cashier said. He looked like he was in his early twenties, with an average build and dirty blonde hair.

Tristan furrowed his brow at him. "Um, I'm not her boyfriend."

The cashier laughed at him, making note of his mannerisms. "My mistake. I should've known by the man purse." He shook his head as he scanned the items.

Tristan was about to retaliate when Zoë grabbed his arm. "It's not worth it," she said quietly.

"That'll be $28.47 princess."

She pulled out her wallet and handed him her card.

"Just to let you know, if your boyfriend doesn't get the job done, I'm always available." He winked at her as he ran her card through the machine.

Zoë scoffed in annoyance. "Actually, these are for my hot _girlfriend._ We're going to use a strap-on and have amazing sex tonight. So, no thank you. I'll pass."

"Oh, a threesome? Lucky guy." He handed the card back to her.

Zoë snatched it out of his hand. "No, you _moron_. I'm a lesbian," she spat. She grabbed the receipt as soon as it finished printing. "Come on Tristan."

"What a waste!" He yelled as Tristan and Zoë were walking away. "All you damaged girls are the same. What, do you have daddy issues? Did you get drunk at a party and have a bad experience? Let me guess, couldn't find a real man that'll give you the time of day so you decided to go for some dyke instead? Pathetic."

Zoë stopped in her tracks. She could feel the rage building up inside her. She clenched her fists as tight as she could and whipped around, marching towards him.

"You know what? You don't even know me. All I did was come in here to buy something and you're going out of your way to try to make me feel bad. Maybe you're the damaged one. Did you fall in love with a girl who went for another girl instead, bruising your fragile little ego? Or maybe your dick is so small that you're pissed off at the universe and feel like you have to insult anyone who's getting any kind of action because you can't get any of your own. Now _that's_ pathetic." She turned and walked away. "Oh, and have fun jerking off tonight to some cheap ass porn. I'll be having _real_ sex with my beautiful girlfriend all night long." She held the grocery bag up and waved it, showing off the condoms before walking out the door.

Tristan followed her out the store, arms crossed and mouth gaping open. "That…was incredible," he said in awe as they walked up to her car. "I can't believe you just said that to him! You are such an inspiration." He opened the car door and got inside.

Zoë opened her door and threw the bag in the back before plopping down into the driver's seat and slamming the door shut. She gripped the steering wheel as hard as she could as the tears began streaming down her face.

Tristan's face dropped. He put his hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong Zoë?"

"Sorry," she said wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "It's just been awhile since I thought about my assault."

"That bastard. I'm going to punch his nose off of his face." He opened the car door.

"Tristan, what if he's right? What if the only reason I'm like this is because I've lived my whole life without a father figure? Or because of what happened that night at Miles's party?"

He shut the door back. "Zoë, you are who you are. And whether it's because of your life experiences or because it was just how you were born, you can't help who you like. And you can't force yourself to like something that you don't." He rubbed her shoulder. "And if I'm being totally honest, I've never seen your face light up around any boys as much as it does when you're around Rasha."

She nodded as she wiped her tears. She let out a deep breath and started the car. "Okay. Let's go to the adult store."

* * *

Zoë walked through the front door of the Cardinal's house. She went upstairs with the bags in her hands and walked into Grace's room, shutting the door behind her and setting the bags down on the goth's bed.

"Hey," Grace said as she turned around in the chair at her desk, "We're probably going to leave around seven to go to the movie. We won't be back until eleven, so that should give you guys plenty of time."

"Alright, I'll let Rasha know." Zoë pulled out her phone and began to type.

"What's in the bags?" Grace asked as she walked over and sat on the bed.

Zoë set her phone down. She grabbed one of the bags and smiled at Grace. She pulled out two boxes, one containing the dildo and the other the harness.

Grace raised her eyebrows as she looked at the items. "Whoa, you're really going all out." She picked up the box containing the dildo and read the information on the side panel.

"Yeah well, I wanted us to have options. I also got these." Zoë pulled out the box of condoms from the other bag. "I bet you're wondering why I got condoms..."

"For easier clean up," Grace answered without looking up from the box. "Can I open this and look at it?"

Zoë nodded. "How come you know so much about lesbian stuff?"

"I mean, I did think that I was gay for a brief period of time. I did some research."

Zoë nodded. That sounded exactly like something she would do.

Grace pulled the dildo out of the packaging and held it in her hand. "Wow, this feels so realistic."

"It does," Zoë agreed. "I made sure not to get one that looked too realistic though. I thought purple would be a fun color."

"And Rasha's okay with this one?" She asked as she examined the fake cock.

"She doesn't know yet. I'm going to surprise her with it. And before you say anything, I'll make sure she knows that there's no pressure at all. It's just there as an option."

Grace put the dildo back in the package and closed the box. "Well, whatever happens tonight, just make sure to have fun, okay?" She winked.

"Don't worry, we will," Zoë smirked.


	6. The Big Night

Zoë spent two hours getting ready for the big night. She took an hour long shower, thoroughly scrubbing every crevice of her body, and shaving everything that needed to be shaved. She even spent half an hour giving herself the perfect bikini trim. She was in her room putting on her makeup when she heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Come in."

Grace opened the door. "Hey, we're leaving now."

"How do I look? Does this dress look okay? What about my hair? Does it look straightened enough to you or should I go over it one more time with the flat iron?"

"Zoë, relax," she laughed. "Just don't overthink it. You've already got the girl, which means you've already impressed her."

"Okay, okay. You're right," she surrendered.

"Grace, are you ready?" Ms. Cardinal called from downstairs.

"That's my cue," Grace said as she pointed at the open door behind her with her thumb. "I hope you two have a good night. I'll text you when we're leaving the movie theater."

"Alright, thanks again for everything Grace."

"No problem." She turned around and walked out the door.

Zoë saw her phone light up with a notification. It was a text from Rasha. She quickly opened it.

 **I'm on my way :)**

Zoë felt the butterflies multiply inside her stomach. Her girlfriend was going to be there in ten minutes, and she hadn't even finished putting her makeup on.

 **Can't wait!**

She replied back. After throwing her phone down, she frantically reached for her makeup and finished remodeling her face. After she decided she looked good enough, she reached for the shopping bags with the stuff she had bought today. She pulled out the box of condoms and set it down on her desk. Then, she pulled out the dildo and harness. She attached the dildo to the harness and put it in a long gift box filled with red tissue paper. She put the lid on top and set the box down on the floor of her closet. Right as she shut the closet door, the doorbell rang.

 _Deep breaths Zoë. You've got this._

She started to run down the stairs, but slowed down when she got halfway. She didn't want to seem too eager. She checked her face and hair in the hallway mirror before coolly opening the door.

"Hey Rasha, come on in." She waved to Goldi sitting in her car before shutting the door. When she turned around she pulled Rasha into her and slowly kissed her on her lips before breaking apart.

"Wow. Hello to you too," Rasha said with a surprised look on her face.

Both girls laughed.

"Was that too forward?" Zoë asked.

"Yes. But I liked it." The short-haired girl smiled at her girlfriend.

Zoë smiled back. "So, do you want anything to eat or drink? I think we have some leftover pizza in the fridge if you're hungry."

"Zoë," Rasha gently held her girlfriend's hands, "I'm going to be completely honest with you. I've been thinking about you all day, and I really, _really_ want to rip your clothes off right now."

Zoë felt her stomach drop. She absolutely loved it when Rasha was direct. She gave her a lusty smile. "Then let's go upstairs to my bedroom."

She took Rasha's hand and led her up the stairs. Zoë could feel her heart beating out of her chest. As soon as they got into the room, she slammed the door shut and pushed Rasha against it, smashing their lips together. Their mouths wrestled hungrily. Once they got comfortable, Rasha darted her tongue into Zoë's mouth. The brunette responded by moving her tongue against the Syrian's, both fighting for dominance. They stayed like this for a few minutes before Zoë reached down to unbuckle Rasha's belt. She unbuttoned and unzipped the girl's jeans, all without breaking the kiss. She yanked them down her girlfriend's body until they reached the floor. Rasha stepped out of of the legs of her jeans and threw them aside. Zoë nudged the girl's leg aside, signaling her to spread her legs, which she did. Zoë reached down into Rasha's boyshorts and ran her finger all the way up her slick folds. The Syrian girl threw her head back against the door and moaned. Zoë brought her soaked finger up to her lips and sucked on it. She closed her eyes, taking in the taste. After sucking it completely clean, she popped her finger back out.

"You taste, so fucking good," She whispered.

Feeling Zoë's hot breath on her ear gave Rasha goose bumps all over her body. Her girlfriend had been so hesitant lately and this unexpected level of confidence was turning her on so much.

Zoë got down on her knees and pulled down Rasha's boyshorts. She threw them behind her and looked up into her girlfriend's eyes as the corners of her mouth curved up into a devilish smile. She looked at the Syrian's wet center, and proceeded to lick her all the way up and down her soaked slit.

"Fuck!" Rasha yelled, bringing her hands down to her sides and slamming her palms against the door behind her.

The brunette licked up her wet folds, circled her tongue around her clit a few times, and then repeated the process.

With all of the anticipation of this very moment, Rasha was very worked up. She knew that if Zoë kept going like that, she would cum very soon. Rasha ran her hands through Zoë's hair.

"I'm getting really close," the Syrian said as she whimpered.

Zoë detached her tongue from the girl's center and kissed her all the way up her stomach, lifting her red plaid shirt as she did so.

"Well we can't have that, now can we?" she said before unbuttoning Rasha's shirt and pushing it off her shoulders. She was wearing a black bra that matched her boyshorts. Zoë turned the girl around and unhooked her bra, lightly kissing her back as she did so. She pulled the bra off and dropped it onto the floor. She pushed the front of her body against the back of her girlfriend, connecting her own center with Rasha's perfectly toned ass. She rubbed her hands all the way up the front of the girl's legs, causing her to quiver. Zoë turned Rasha around and looked at her naked body. She was stunned.

"Oh my god," Zoë said, gazing at Rasha's chest for the first time.

"What?" Rasha quickly became self-conscious and covered herself with her arms. "What's wrong?"

Zoë's mouth was still slightly gaped open as she pulled Rasha's arms away, revealing her body. After taking in one last look, she looked up into her girlfriend's eyes and said, "You're so gorgeous."

Rasha smiled shyly and kissed Zoë. "Okay, now it's my turn to see." She pushed Zoë around behind her, switching positions. Now Zoë was the one with her front against the door. Rasha unzipped the back of Zoë's floral dress and pulled it down her body, dropping it to the floor. Zoë stepped out of the dress and kicked it aside. She was wearing a maroon laced bra and a matching set of cheeky panties that made her ass look like that of a model. Rasha looked down the back of her girlfriend's body and grabbed her ass. She moved her girlfriend's brunette hair over her shoulder and sucked on her neck, eliciting an ecstatic sigh from the girl. She grabbed Zoë's hips, pulling them back into her, and thrust her center against her ass. She had never been so turned on in her entire life. All she wanted to do was fuck her girlfriend, _hard._ But she knew she couldn't get too ahead of herself. She wanted their first time to last awhile. So, she removed her lips from the girl's neck and turned her around. She could see that Zoë's face was flustered. She looked at her beautiful chest and smiled. The bra that she was wearing pushed her breasts up to reveal the top half of them, making them look perfectly round and firm. Without taking her eyes off them, the Syrian reached out and touched them. She gave them a light squeeze before letting go. Still smiling, she looked up at Zoë, who was amused by the short-haired girl's fascination.

"You like?" Zoë asked.

"This underwear looks _amazing_ on you," she raved as she ran her fingers along the lacy pattern of the maroon panties.

The corner of Zoë's mouth quirked up. "Good, because I have seven more sets just like this in different colors."

"I still can't believe how lucky I am."

"Come here." Zoë grabbed her girlfriend's face and pulled it into hers.

As they kissed, Rasha reached her hands around Zoë's back and unhooked her bra before discarding it onto the floor. With their lips still connected, she walked them over to the bed and pushed Zoë onto it. The brunette fell on her back, breaking the kiss. The Syrian grabbed the band of her girlfriend's panties and began to pull them down. Zoë lifted her hips, allowing Rasha to pull the garment off of her.

They were both completely naked, and completely horny. Rasha laid on top of Zoë with her right leg between Zoë's. Their upper thighs connected with each other's center. The Syrian began to rock her body up and down as she rubbed her clit against the brunette's leg, causing the same stimulation for the other girl. She dropped her head down next to Zoë's and began to kiss her neck.

Zoë reached her hands around the back of Rasha's neck as they grinded their centers into the other's leg. "God this feels so good," she said as her girlfriend continued to rock on top of her.

Rasha began to pick up the pace. She had never done this with anyone before, and it felt so good.

It was only a minute later when Rasha felt her walls begin to tense up. Her muscles contracted as a stream of moans and quiet squeaks left her mouth. When her orgasm subsided, she dropped all of her weight onto Zoë's body, panting as she tried to catch her breath.

Zoë held her and rubbed her hands through her short hair, letting her regain her energy.

Rasha rolled off of her girlfriend and laid on her back next to her with her hands over her face. "I'm so sorry," she said, clearly upset.

Zoë propped herself up onto her elbow as she rubbed Rasha's arm. "Sorry for what?"

The short-haired girl removed her hands from her face and looked up at her girlfriend. "For finishing so soon. I didn't mean for it to happen that fast. It's just that I've been thinking about you all day, and I was getting so turned on, and I was just really sensitive down there, and-"

"Rasha," Zoë cut her off, giggling. "It's okay. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Orgasms are bound to happen during sex." She said that last part sarcastically.

Rasha laughed at how ridiculous she was being.

"Plus, it's not like we have to stop for the night just because you had an orgasm. We _can_ keep going you know." She smiled.

"Yes, yes you're right. I'm just being silly." She smiled at her girlfriend. "I'm going to need a few minutes before I'm ready to go again though. You know, to let things desensitize."

"Well, in that case, I know what you can do while we wait." Zoë's face filled with seduction.

"What?"

Zoë grabbed Rasha's hand and slid it onto her own center. She guided the girl's index finger onto her clit and moved it around in circles. Zoë closed her eyes and took in the pleasure she was receiving.

Rasha found it unbelievably hot that Zoë was using her hand as a puppet to pleasure herself.

After a few seconds, Zoë moved Rasha's finger further down her slit and pushed it inside her. She let out a heavy sigh at the feeling. Her center had been aching so much from the emptiness, just waiting to be filled. Zoë let go, allowing Rasha to take over. The Syrian began to slowly pump her finger in and out as Zoë rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, heavily breathing. Rasha rolled over onto her side and put her left leg on top of Zoë as she proceeded to finger fuck her.

"Fuck that's good," Zoë choked out as she brought her hands up to her head, grabbing her own hair. She moved her hips back and forth, trying to get Rasha to go faster.

Rasha examined her girlfriend's body language and knew what to do. She moved her finger faster, and deeper.

Without opening her eyes, Zoë smiled at the fact that she didn't have to say anything for Rasha to understand what she wanted. After a few seconds, she unexpectedly felt another finger added, stretching her center. This caused Zoë to squeal and grab the sheets underneath her.

She felt so full for the first time in awhile. When she masturbated, she only focused on her clit. She never inserted anything into herself before, not even her fingers. In fact, the only thing she's ever felt inserted into her is a penis. This felt different. A good kind of different. She could feel Rasha intently moving her fingers inside her; something that guys never got right. All they ever did was shove their dick in and out in an attempt to reach their own orgasm. It honestly didn't even feel all that good. But this felt intentional, and sensual. It felt amazing.

Rasha lowered her head down towards Zoë's left breast and massaged her nipple with her tongue. She heard Zoë gasp.

"Oh my god," the brunette said in a breathy tone. "Fuck." She grabbed the back of Rasha's head with her left hand.

The Syrian girl had a feeling that she was doing everything right. She moved her fingers faster, going as deep as she could. She could feel Zoë's center begin to tighten around her, making it harder for her to move in and out. But she still tried.

"Shit, I'm gonna cum. Oh god, I'm gonna cum. Fuck fuck fuck!" Zoë yelled as Rasha pumped faster. She grabbed the headboard behind her with her right hand and reached her left arm around Rasha's back for support as her orgasm began to wash over her.

"UNNGGHHHHHH!" She yelled out, arching her back off the bed.

Rasha continued to pump in and out, helping Zoë ride out her orgasm before slowing down her movements. Zoë dropped her back onto the bed indicating that she was done, but Rasha didn't stop her movements. In fact, she began to pump faster. After pumping a few times, she stopped her fingers all the way inside Zoë and massaged her G-spot. It was only ten seconds later that the brunette felt her abdomen tense up again.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum again!" She yelled. "SHIIIIIT!" She yelled louder than before as an even more intense orgasm ripped through her body. She shut her eyes tight and gripped the sheets as hard as she could. Her nails dug into Rasha's back, but that didn't stop the girl from continuing to pleasure her girlfriend.

It was at least a minute before Zoë's walls had finally stopped contracting. Rasha took her fingers out and wiped them on the sheets. Zoë threw one arm over her face and shook her head as she gasped for air like she had just ran a marathon. "How...the hell…" She said between breaths.

Rasha looked down at the defeated girl, feeling proud of herself.

Zoë moved her arm off of her face and opened her eyes to look at Rasha. "That's never happened before in my entire life." She smiled in amazement. "How the hell did you just give me two orgasms in a row?"

"It's just a gift I guess," Rasha boasted playfully.

"Well, it's a damn good gift if you ask me." She grabbed Rasha's arm and put it behind her own neck as she rolled towards her girlfriend and laid her head down onto her chest. "God, this feels amazing. Your body feels so amazing. I wish we could just lay here in bed forever." She squeezed Rasha into a hug.

Rasha nodded as she rubbed Zoë's arm. "Me too. But sadly, I should be getting back to the Nahir's soon. Goldi only told them that I was coming over to study. I don't think they'd want me to stay too late since it's a school night.

Zoë's face dropped. She didn't want her girlfriend to leave. She wanted to fall asleep with her and wake up next to her. She looked over at her clock to check the time. "It's only 9:30 now. Maybe you can stay another hour?"

The Syrian smiled. "I would love to."

Zoë reached up and kissed her girlfriend before laying her head back down onto her chest.

"Can I ask you something?" Rasha asked hesitantly.

"Anything," Zoë assured her, not moving her head from its comfortable position.

"Why do you have a box of condoms on your desk?"

Zoë's eyes shot open. She jumped up off the bed and grabbed the box before quickly putting it in the drawer. "You weren't supposed to see those."

Rasha sat up and looked at Zoë. "Are you still having sex with boys?" she asked.

"No! I'm not, I swear." She sighed and walked over to the closet door. She grabbed the box and walked over to the bed. "They're for this," she said as she sat down on the edge of the bed next to Rasha's legs and handed her the box.

Rasha took the box and opened it, revealing the purple strap-on. Her eyebrows rose as she picked it up. She didn't know what she was expecting to be in the box, but it definitely wasn't that.

"There's no pressure to use it tonight if you don't want to," Zoë said, trying not to make her girlfriend feel uncomfortable. "I know it's a big deal, and it's totally up to you." She examined Rasha's face, trying to read her thoughts. The girl was quiet. "Oh god, you hate it don't you. I knew I should've gone with a different color. I just didn't want it to look like an actual dick."

"It's not that." Rasha put the strap-on back into the box and set it down on the bed next to her. "It's just that…I've never done it before. I mean, I've never…I'm not… _broken."_ She whispered the last word.

It took Zoë a second to realize that she was trying to tell her that she was still a virgin. "Oh. Well, that's okay. We don't have to."

"It's not that I don't want to do it with you. It's just that, I wasn't expecting this, and it just looks so big. And I don't know if I'm ready for that just yet. I mean, what if it hurts? I've never even used a tampon before."

Zoë grabbed Rasha's hands. "Hey, it's okay. We don't have to do it tonight. Honestly, I'm okay with it. Your first time is a big deal, and maybe we can get one that's a little smaller if it makes you more comfortable. I only got it as an option in case we wanted to."

Rasha nodded, feeling a little more relaxed. "I think a smaller one would make me feel much less intimidated."

"Okay, then maybe that's something we can get together in the future. Whenever you're ready." She smiled.

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"I've been told a few times," Zoë teased as she flipped her hair. She grabbed the box and looked at the strap-on. "So, would you consider using it on me?" She asked, looking up at her girlfriend.

Rasha looked at the item in her girlfriend's hand. "I'd be lying if I said I've never thought about it."

"Really?" Zoë asked excitedly. Just thinking about Rasha fucking her with the strap-on made her center ache.

"I don't know, I'm really nervous. What if I do it wrong? I've never even seen one of these in person before now."

"Well, why don't you go into the bathroom and try it on for a bit? I can wait here. If you feel like it's too much then we don't have to use it tonight. You can even take it home with you and practice using it if you want."

"Okay." The Syrian hesitantly took the strap-on. "I'll be right back." She gave Zoë a quick peck on the lips before walking out of the room.

Zoë sighed and leaned back onto the bed. She really hoped Rasha wanted to use it, because thinking about her wearing that strap-on was making her uncomfortably wet. She grabbed her phone and scrolled through Hastygram as an attempt to distract herself.

It took Rasha about five minutes to figure out how to put the thing on. Once she finally figured it out, she adjusted the harness so that the dildo was perfectly against her center, and tightened the straps. She looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't know why, but wearing the fake dick was completely turning her on. She thrust her hips a few times, trying to get used to the weight of having something between her legs. Just thinking about having sex with Zoë like that was making her wet. She touched it and stroked it a few times as if it was actually a part of her body. She looked into the mirror as she continued to move her hand up and down the shaft. She would never admit this, but sometimes when she masturbated she imagined that she had a penis and that Zoë was jerking her off. She wasn't transgender or anything. She loved her body and she loved being a female. But for whatever reason, she got incredibly aroused when she imagined having sex with Zoë like a man.

After twenty minutes, Rasha finally felt ready to walk out of the bathroom. "I think I want to do it tonight," she said as she walked into Zoë's bedroom.

Zoë looked up from her phone. Her mouth fell open as she stared at her girlfriend standing in front of her, naked, wearing the purple strap-on, looking sexy as fuck. "Wow," was all she could muster up.

"You don't think it looks weird?" Rasha began to feel self-conscious as she looked down at the colorful silicone cock.

"No way. It looks sexy. You look sexy." Zoë wanted her girlfriend to take her right then and there. She stood up and kissed her girlfriend, feeling the protruding member rub against her body. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Zoë walked over to the desk and pulled out the box of condoms.

"These will help make it easier to clean up," she explained as she took one out of the box and began to open it.

Rasha sat down on the edge of the bed and twiddled her thumbs nervously.

"Do you know how to put one of these on?" Zoë asked.

"I remember them teaching us in health class, but I've never done it before," Rasha explained shyly. Her face had to be beet red.

Zoë nodded and smiled at how cute her girlfriend was when she was nervous. "I can put it on."

Rasha nodded, indicating that it was okay.

The brunette walked over to her girlfriend and dropped down between her legs so that the cock was at eye level. She put the condom on the tip and proceeded to roll it down, slowly.

Rasha stared at her girlfriend's hand sliding down the shaft. She was getting incredibly turned on.

Zoë looked up and could tell by Rasha's face that she was getting aroused. She gave a small smile at this and decided to have fun with it. When she finished rolling the condom all the way down, she moved her hand slowly back up the shaft.

Rasha watched as her girlfriend moved her hand up and down. Each time Zoë went down, she lightly pushed the base against Rasha's center, which made her buck her hips each time.

"You're so hard," Zoë said seductively as she stared into Rasha's eyes, still moving her hand up and down.

Rasha looked at Zoë's face, breathing heavily at the amount of pleasure her girlfriend was giving her. Zoë was treating the strap-on like it was actually a part of Rasha. Anyone else would probably think that this was extremely weird, but Rasha was loving it.

"Mmm, I can feel how wet you are," Zoë said as she rubbed the tip of the cock, still looking into Rasha's eyes.

The short-haired girl began to thrust her hips a little bit. Zoë noticed the girl's movements, so she decided to take it a little further.

"Can I suck your big cock?" Zoë asked as she continued to drag her hand up and down, looking at Rasha with lust-filled eyes.

Rasha nodded as she stared with her mouth slightly open. She watched Zoë take the member halfway into her mouth, and then back out. The Syrian could feel her wetness all over the harness. She started to thrust her hips again, but then decided not to. She didn't want to thrust too hard and end up gagging her girlfriend.

Zoë noticed that the girl was holding back. "It's okay. You can thrust. I'll let you know if it's too much," she assured her girlfriend before putting the cock back into her mouth.

The Syrian began to slowly rock her hips. A quiet moan escaped her lips. She put one hand in Zoë's hair while putting the other one on the bed behind her for support. She closed her eyes and threw her head back, thrusting a little harder. "Fuck," she whispered. Each time she thrust, the base of the dildo pressed harder into her sensitive clit. She looked down, taking in the sight of her beautiful girlfriend blowing her, before throwing her head back again. She was so aroused, and she just wanted to fuck Zoë so badly. She just couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Zoë's arm and lifted it, signaling her to stand up. Zoë complied, and before she could even ask what was wrong, Rasha threw her down onto the bed. She crawled on top of the brunette and smashed their lips together, rocking her hips back and forth.

"Ugh," Zoë moaned as she felt the wet dildo rub against her clit. "Rasha, I want you to fuck me. I want your large cock inside me," she whispered into Rasha's ear.

Rasha grabbed the shaft of the cock with her hand and felt around for Zoë's hole. Once she found it, she slowly inserted the tip inside.

Zoë inhaled sharply.

"What? Did I hurt you?" Rasha panicked.

"No, no. It feels good," she affirmed. "Keep going."

The girl pushed her hips forward, forcing the member to go deeper inside Zoë. The brunette took in a big gasp of air and smiled as she let out a heavy sigh. Rasha took this as a good sign, so she slowly pulled her hips back before thrusting forward again, _hard._ The brunette's face contorted with pleasure. She continued this delayed thrusting motion for a few minutes, before picking up her pace.

"Yes Rasha. That feels so good. Mmm. Keep going." Zoë wrapped her legs around Rasha's back, forcing her to go in deeper.

The Syrian girl was rocking her hips so hard that their skin slapped together. They could hear the squishing of Zoë's wetness coating the fake member.

"Oh. Oh. Fuck. Yes. Mhm. Yes. Ungh." The heat rushed to Zoë's center. She bucked her hips up as she screamed. "Fuck yes!"

Rasha could feel the base rubbing against her clit, which was giving her the stimulation she needed to reach her own orgasm.

The room was filled with screams and moans coming from both girls. Zoë dropped her limbs onto the bed, and Rasha dropped her body on top of Zoë. They were both breathing heavily.

"Did you cum babe?" Zoë asked.

Rasha nodded, her face next to Zoë's.

Zoë smiled at the fact that she and her girlfriend had orgasmed at the same time. Rasha smiled at the fact that Zoë had called her 'babe' for the first time.

After laying there for a few minutes, Rasha finally began to slide the strap-on out of Zoë. As she did so, Zoë let out a heavy sigh, obviously getting turned on by the movement. So, Rasha unexpectedly slammed the dildo back inside Zoë, who choked out a loud, high-pitched 'Fuck!' Rasha moved in and out of her a few times before pulling completely out and getting up off the bed.

"Why'd you stopped?" Zoë asked disappointedly.

"I want to try something."

"Okay." Zoë was intrigued.

"Stand up."

The brunette obeyed and got up off the bed to stand next to Rasha. "Now what?"

"Bend over onto the bed."

Zoë's eyes lit up. She knew exactly where this was going. She had always wanted to try this sex position, but was too afraid to ask. So she was stuck with the boring old missionary. She eagerly bent over the bed onto her forearms. "Like this?" she asked looking behind her.

"Yes, that's perfect," Rasha answered, staring hungrily at her girlfriend's ass. She took the condom off of the strap-on and put on a new, freshly lubricated one. She wasn't as nervous to put it on this time since she had just seen Zoë do it. Once she got the condom on, she stepped forward towards her girlfriend, holding the dildo and pointing it towards her backside.

"You're probably going to need to raise yourself up a little bit. I don't think I can get it in from this angle," Rasha said as she struggled to get the tip inside.

Zoë straightened her legs out, causing her back side to go higher in the air. "Is this better?"

The Syrian took the cock and pushed it inside Zoë's center.

"Ungh," she moaned.

"Yep. That's better," the Syrian smirked.

Rasha grabbed onto Zoë's hips and pulled her back into her body as she thrust forward, resulting in the deepest penetration Zoë had ever felt in her life.

"Oh my god!" she yelled as her girlfriend pumped the firm member inside her. She could feel her legs quivering from the pleasure. She reached her right hand between her legs and began to massage her clit.

Rasha noticed this and thrust her hips even faster in response to her own arousal. "Zoë, you're so fucking sexy. I just want you to cum all over my cock," she said bravely. Rasha wasn't usually one to talk dirty. She was very shy about that kind of stuff. But tonight, she felt brave enough to go for it.

"Shit Rasha. That's so good. God you feel so good inside me." She began to rub her clit faster as her girlfriend fucked her from behind.

"Come on Zoë, cum all over me. You're tight pussy is so wet. Cum for me."

Those words were enough to push Zoë over the edge. "Fuck! Aughhhhh!" She screamed in ecstasy. Her legs gave out beneath her and she dropped her knees to the floor, causing the dildo to slide out of her. She panted as she leaned over the bed and rested her head on top of her arms. Rasha took the condom off and threw it away. She pulled the strap-on down her legs and discarded it onto the floor. She sat down on the bed next to Zoë and rubbed her arm.

"I think we're done for the night," Rasha smiled.

Zoë looked up at her with a devilish grin. "Not quite." She said as she crawled over between Rasha's legs. She put her hands on her girlfriend's knees and spread the girl's legs, dipping her head down as she proceeded to eat her out.

"Oh god!" The Syrian yelled. She leaned back on her hands behind her as she threw her head back. Her eyes were shut tight. She bucked her hips into Zoë's face, forcing more pressure onto her bundle of nerves. Zoë moved her tongue as fast as she could.

"UNGH!" Rasha rocked her hips into Zoë's face as her orgasm took over.

The brunette lapped up every last drop of her girlfriend before crashing their lips together.

"God, you're so good at that," Rasha said in awe.

"What? Kissing?" Zoë winked.

The Syrian laughed. "Yes, but no. I meant the other thing. With your tongue?"

"I guess I'm just a natural," Zoë said as she smiled. "You're really good at that." She pointed to the strap-on that was on the floor.

"I guess I'm just a natural," she smiled playfully. Rasha looked over at the clock behind Zoë and noticed the time.

"Oh my god!" She ran over to her jeans and grabbed her phone out of the pocket.

"What's wrong?" Zoë asked as she got up off the floor.

"It's past midnight." Rasha frantically as she unlocked her phone. "I have five unread messages from Goldi. She must be freaking out."

Zoë ran over to the window and saw Ms. Cardinal's car in the driveway. "Shit. Grace and her mom are home." She ran over to the bedroom door and quietly opened it, peering her head around the door frame and into the hall. All of the lights were off, and all of the bedroom doors were shut, which meant that everyone was asleep. She leaned back into the bedroom and quietly shut the door.

"Everyone is asleep." She grabbed her phone and saw that she just had one message from Grace an hour ago letting her know that she and her mom were leaving the movie theater. "What did Goldi say?"

Rasha was still looking at her phone. "She said that she was worried about me and that she just assumed we fell asleep. She covered for me with her parents and she's going to bring me some clean clothes tomorrow when we meet up at school." She closed her phone and set it down on Zoë's night stand.

"That's perfect! You can sleep with me tonight!" She ran over to Rasha and hugged her. "This is so perfect. I can't believe how amazing this night has been." She let go of Rasha's body and grabbed her hands. "First I get to have amazing sex with my beautiful girlfriend, and now I get to wake up next to her."

Rasha blushed. "You…you think I'm beautiful?"

Zoë furrowed her brow. "Duh." She leaned in and softly kissed her girlfriend on the lips. "Now, let's get ready for bed. As much as this night has felt like a fantasy, we do still have school tomorrow."

The girls got into bed, without bothering to put any pajamas on. Their bodies fit together perfectly like two puzzle pieces. It had been the perfect night for both of them. But what would happen the next day, Zoë was not prepared for.


	7. Mothers Know Best

_Knock knock knock_

"Zoë? Are you up yet? You're going to be late for school. We have to leave in fifteen minutes." Grace waited patiently, but heard no response. She knocked again. "Zoë?" She waited, but still, nothing. She slowly opened the door. "Hey, are you up?" she asked while looking around the room. The first thing she noticed was the strap-on laying on the floor.

Zoë stirred in her bed and opened her eyes. "Grace!" she hissed as she pulled the covers over herself and Rasha, who was lying on her stomach next to her, still asleep. She continued to whisper, "What are you doing in here?"

"I came to see if you were up yet. I'm assuming last night went well," she said smugly as she pointed to the strap-on.

Zoë rolled her eyes. "We'll be downstairs in a few minutes."

"Okay, but hurry up. You're my ride and I don't want to be late." Grace quietly closed the door behind her.

Rasha made a few noises as she stirred. She stretched her arms into the air and let out a giant yawn. "Good morning," she said sleepily with her eyes only halfway open.

"Good morning," Zoë smiled as she leaned down to kiss her girlfriend. "As cute as you look right now, we have to get up and get ready for school. We only have fifteen minutes."

Rasha sat up and looked at the clock. "I didn't realize how late it was. I guess we slept pretty well last night."

"Hmm, I wonder why that could be," Zoë smirked.

Rasha laughed. "Alright, let me take a quick shower and I'll be ready to go." She grabbed a towel from Zoë's closet and wrapped it around her. Then she picked up her clothes off the floor and walked to the bathroom.

Zoë got out of bed and quickly put some clean clothes on. She went downstairs to grab something to eat.

"So, how many orgasms did you have last night? I believe I only heard two of them," Grace teased.

Zoë spilled the milk she was pouring into her bowl of cereal. " _What_?" she asked as her eyes widened.

"I think it was something along the lines of 'Oh Rasha, I can feel your hard cock inside me,'" the goth snickered.

"You heard that?!" Zoë rushed over to the table and sat down across from Grace.

"Oh yeah. You guys were really loud last night. Also, the bed was pretty loud too. You should probably move it away from the wall a little bit." She took a bite of her toast.

"Oh god," Zoë said as she covered her blushing face. "Do you think your mom heard us?"

"Probably. Her room is just as close to yours as mine is."

"Ugh," Zoë dropped her head onto the table.

"It's okay. My mom isn't like your mom. She's okay with stuff like that. You shouldn't be embarrassed around her."

Zoë sighed. "Yeah, but she's your mom. And she probably heard me having sex. _Lesbian_ sex. How can I not be embarrassed about that?"

Grace shrugged.

Rasha came down the stairs. "Oh, hey Grace," she said as she waved.

Grace waved back. "Good morning." She turned to Zoë. "You should take a shower. You smell like sex." She whispered before winking.

"Ugh, you're so annoying," Zoë rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll be right back," she said to Rasha before giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

Rasha sat down at the table where Zoë was sitting and began to eat the bowl of cereal she left. "So, how am I doing with the play? I'm really nervous that I'm not as good as the others."

"No, you're doing great. You're very talented. I'm glad Money Bags picked you to play Coma Boy. Honestly, without you and Jonah, play rehearsals would be boring."

Rasha smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Money Bags?"

"Yeah, I guess that's just something I got used to calling Miles as," Grace laughed. "So, how are things with Zoë? I hear her side all the time, but I wanted to check in with you."

"Things are great! Couldn't be better," she said excitedly.

Grace smiled. "I'm glad. Honestly, I've never seen her this hung up on someone. Not even me. She really likes you."

Rasha furrowed her brow and slightly tilted her head. "What do you mean not even you?"

"You know, since that whole thing went down between us. I just felt bad that I couldn't like her back. But, all that's in the past now. She's got a great girlfriend, and I'm happy for her. For you both."

Rasha stared at her, completely caught off guard.

"Wait…did she not tell you about that?"

Rasha tried to shake the confusion off her face and smiled. "No no, she did. I just forgot about it."

Grace nodded.

"Alright, I'm ready," Zoë said as she hopped down the stairs. "Are my two favorite girls ready to go to school in my sweet whip?"

"Yeah, high school is every teenager's dream," Grace said as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

"Ha ha. You're such a Debbie Downer." Zoë slid the strap of her purse over her arm. She turned around and saw that Rasha was still sitting at the table, staring at them. "Rasha? You coming?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just spacing out for a second." She got up from the seat and grabbed her book bag before following them out the door.

All three girls piled into Zoë's car; Rasha in the passenger's seat and Grace in the back. Zoë spent the whole ten-minute drive trying to convince Grace to spill the dirt on Jonah, and Grace spent the whole time trying to avoid the subject. Rasha, however, was quiet.

"Come on! It's obvious that you like him. Just ask him out already," Zoë pushed.

Grace rolled her eyes. "We're just friends. Plus, I don't even like him like that." Grace turned her blushing face so Zoë couldn't see it in the rear view mirror.

"Yeah right! It's all over your face, which I can still see by the way. You _love_ him. Back me up Rasha."

Rasha snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh? What?"

"Isn't Grace crushing hard core on Jonah? You must see her flirting with him or something during rehearsals. It's not like she can hide it all day!"

"Shut up!" Grace hit Zoë's shoulder.

"I don't know. It's not really my place to say. Apparently I'm oblivious when it comes to noticing when someone likes someone else." Rasha gave Zoë an apathetic look before turning her head to look out her window.

Zoë looked at Grace, who just shrugged. They were both confused by Rasha's sudden change in mood.

"Uh, okay. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Zoë pulled up into one of the parking spaces and they all got out of the car.

"Yeah. I'm going to see if Zig is around," Grace said as she rushed off to give the girls some privacy.

"Okay now that we're alone, tell me what's really wrong."

Rasha began walking towards the school as Zoë followed her. "Grace told me."

Zoë laughed, "About her crush on Jonah?"

"About your crush on her."

Zoë stopped. She wasn't expecting Rasha to ever find out about that. "Rasha…"

Rasha whipped around. "Did you hook up?"

Zoë paused before answering. "We had sex. Once."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because it was embarrassing. I liked her and she didn't like me back. I've never been rejected so hard in my life."

"She was your first, right? You said you've only done it once."

"Well, yeah. But it was a long time ago."

"But now you're living with her!"

"Just as friends! I don't like her like that anymore. It took us awhile to get back to it, but we're best friends now. She's important to me."

"Yeah, right." Rasha continued to walk towards the school.

"I swear!" Zoë grabbed Rasha's arm, but Rasha pulled away. "You're the one that I love!" Zoë desperately blurted out. Her eyes widened. _I can't believe I just said that._

Rasha stopped and turned around. "You…love me?"

Zoë gulped. "Well…yeah. Didn't it show last night?" She smiled as she took her girlfriend's hand.

A small smile crept across Rasha's face, but she was still hesitant. "You're one-hundred percent sure that you're over Grace?"

"Completely," Zoë assured her.

"Good, because I love you too." Her smile now spread from ear to ear.

Zoë's face lit up. She kissed her girlfriend on the lips. "Let's go to class."

The girls continued to walk towards the school.

"So, have you ever had an embarrassing crush on your straight best friend?" Zoë asked.

"Of course! I wouldn't be gay if I hadn't," Rasha winked.

Zoë laughed. "Did you ever tell her?"

"I didn't have to. She knew. But she didn't like me that way."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We were always better as friends. Besides, now I have you."

Zoë smiled at her.

Rasha's face dropped. "I really miss her though. I haven't heard from her since I got here. I have no idea if she's okay or if…" she trailed off.

"I'm sure she's okay." Zoë gently rubber her back.

As soon as the girls walked into the front door, the bell rang.

"I better go find Goldi. She said she was going to bring me some clean clothes. I'll see you next period?" Rasha asked.

"You bet." Zoë said before kissing her girlfriend and parting ways. She turned around and began to walk towards her English class. As soon as she walked into the room she sat down in her chair and immediately turned to Grace as she proceeded to give her the death stare.

"You know, you're supposed to be all happy and glowing the day after you have sex."

"You told Rasha about us."

"Yeah? So? She said that she knew already."

"Well, she didn't."

"You never told her?"

"What do you think?" Zoë turned to face the front and pulled her notebook out of her bag to prepare for class.

"Well, why not?"

"Because we live together now Grace," she stated as if it were obvious. "I didn't want her to freak out and think that she has anything to worry about…kind of like she did after you told her. So, thanks for that."

"Hey, it's not my fault you weren't being honest with your girlfriend."

Zoë shook her head and ignored her friend.

Grace sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything without asking you if it was okay first. But at least now you don't have to worry about any secrets between you two."

"Well, I still haven't told her about my assault. Or are you going to tell her about that too?"

The teacher shut the door as soon as the bell rang. "Alright class, let's continue our discussion from yesterday…"

Grace lowered her head and said in a quiet voice, "If you're having sex, you should probably tell her. You'll be glad you did."

Zoë thought about it. "I don't know. How do I even start that conversation? Besides, I don't want her to see me as a victim. If I tell her, she might start treating me like I'm fragile, which I'm not."

"Ladies!"

Grace and Zoë looked forward at their teacher.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to teach," she said sternly.

The girls nodded.

"Okay then. So, as I was saying…"

Grace leaned over to Zoë and whispered, "You don't have to tell her today, but telling her and opening up to her like that could bring you closer together. Like when I told you about my CF."

Zoë sighed, but didn't respond.

"Just think about it." She pulled out her notebook and began to take notes.

Zoë spent her lunch period outside making a budget plan for their student council meeting next period. Today was her turn to run the meeting. However, halfway through she fell asleep on her laptop.

 _Ring._

Her head shot up as the bell woke her up. She looked at the time on her phone.

 _Shit._

She quickly gathered her things and ran inside.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Zoë said out of breath as she rushed into the student council room.

"You're not the only one. We haven't seen the queen of darkness yet either," said Winston.

"Grace is at her doctor's appointment. She goes every Friday during this hour, remember?" Zoë set her bag down on the table and took a seat.

"Um, what's that mark on your face?" Tristan asked, pointing with his pen at the indention on Zoë's forehead from where she fell asleep.

"What mark?" Zoë grabbed her compact mirror from her purse and notice a solid line going straight across her face right above her eyebrows. "Oh, it's from my laptop. I fell asleep while working on the budget plan last period. But I'm almost done with it."

"Sleeping on the job Zo?" He looked at Zoë, who just rolled her eyes. He smirked. "Oh, that's right. You were up all night banging Ra-"

" _Tristan!"_ she hissed.

He threw his hands up in defense. "Alright, alright. Chill. I'm just messing with you. Geez."

Zoë looked over at Goldi, who was looking down at the table, clearly feeling a little uncomfortable by the subject.

Winston darted his eyes, trying to figure out why everyone was acting weird. "Uh, am I missing something?"

"It's nothing," Zoë answered. "So, about this budget plan. Here's what I have so far." Zoë turned her laptop around so everyone could see the screen. "If we want to have the dance this year, which I know we all do, we're going to have to raise a little more money. Especially with all of these new clubs."

"How much do we have to raise?" Winston asked.

"At least $500. Maybe more."

"Oh man. That's a lot," Winston said.

"Nothing a good fundraiser can't solve." Zoë turned her laptop back around to face her.

"Why don't we just sell naked pictures for money?" Tristan mocked.

Zoë narrowed her eyes at him. "Ha ha. Funny. I was thinking something more along the lines of discount cards."

"Discount cards? What's that?" Winston asked.

"Well, we ask the local stores and restaurants if they're willing to offer any discounts, like 5% off or buy two get the third free. Then, we put all of the discounts from each store on a single card. Like a gift card, except on the actual card it has pictures of the coupons. You can use the card any time for a year. All you have to do is show it to the cashier and they'll give you the discount. Simple. We could sell each card for $10."

"Wow, that's actually a really great idea." Tristan said, impressed.

"Yeah, especially if we can get The Dot on board. Students would be lining up for discounts there," Winston added.

"Exactly. If we sell ten, that's $100 right there," Zoë said excitedly. "We'll need a bunch of different places that fit all of the students' interests. I was thinking for restaurants we could do The Dot, Lola's Cantina, and Pizza Leslie. I'm stumped on stores though. All I can think of is a bunch of clothing and shoe stores."

"Girl, same," said Tristan. "Maybe we could get the movie theater to do some kind of deal on snacks?"

"Yeah, and we could get a sports store for the jocks…Oh! And the game store. I haven't been there lately though, so it would probably be best to ask one of the nerds to help us get a discount there. Hunter and his friends are tight with the manager."

"Good point. Goldi, do you think you can get Baaz to help us with that?" Zoë asked, looking at Goldi.

"Yeah, sure," Goldi said, quickly making eye contact with Zoë before looking away.

Zoë scrunched her eyebrows. She noticed Goldi acting weird.

"Alright, this all sounds really good." Tristan took notes on his phone. "I'll look into how much money it'll be to make the cards and see how many we need to sell to make a profit. Zoë, you and Goldi ask around the local stores and restaurants to see if anyone is interested. Winston, you can make the flyers."

"Do I have free artistic range?"

"Sure."

"Yes!" Winston fist pumped.

"Zoë, tell Grace she can update the social media accounts advertising the fundraiser. Also, ask her if she can look on the store websites and find any good discount suggestions to ask the managers. Try to get us the best deals possible."

Zoë nodded.

Tristan looked at his watch. "Looks like we're ending 20 minutes early. Unless you guys had anything else you wanted to bring up, I think we're done."

Everyone stood up from the table and grabbed their things. Goldi quietly slung her bookbag around her shoulder and walked out of the room.

"Goldi, wait up!" Zoë chased after her. "So, do you want to meet up tomorrow and talk to the store managers?"

"Sure." Goldi gave a weak smile and continued to walk away.

"Hey," Zoë grabbed her arm to stop her. "Is something wrong?"

"Like what?"

"Like something causing you to avoid eye contact with me like I have the plague?"

She quietly stared at Zoë for a few seconds. "You and Rasha had sex last night."

Zoë felt her cheeks blushing. "Um, yes? We did." She wasn't sure if Goldi was asking or making a statement.

"And she didn't come home last night."

"I know, I'm really sorry about that. We didn't mean to worry you. We just lost track of time and figured since it was so late that it would be safer if she just stayed with me."

"Okay, that's fine. But what about next time? I'm assuming you guys are going to do it again at some point."

"I sure hope so," Zoë said a little too eagerly.

"Does that mean that every time you have sex she's not going to come home? Is she just going to stay there every night until one day she decides to move in with you?"

"Woah, okay let's not be rash. Ms. Cardinal is already letting me crash at her house. I don't think she has room for another teenager."

"I just don't want to lose her. She's my best friend. She's my only friend. And you're taking her away from me."

Zoë felt bad for Goldi. She knew what it was like to not have a lot of friends. After the whole Degrassi nudes thing and Ms. Pill taking over, it was like radio silence. "Look, she's your best friend. And us being intimate isn't going to change that. I'm not trying to steal her away from you or anything, but sometimes we do want our alone time together. And you have to respect that. But I promise that I'll respect your time with her too. And you don't have to worry about her moving in with me. She's your roommate."

Goldi nodded. "Okay."

"And Goldi, I'm your friend too." She smiled at Goldi, who smiled back.

"Does that mean you'll let me take your position as co-president?" she asked with hopeful eyes.

"Not a chance."

Grace and Zoë walked through the front door of the Cardinal house.

"Ugh, finally. I can't wait to lay down in my bed and take a three-hour nap," Zoë said as she threw her purse down on the kitchen counter.

"Zoë, can I talk to you for a second?" Grace's mom asked from the breakfast table.

Zoë looked over at Grace, who just shrugged. "Sure Ms. Cardinal. What's up?" She walked over to the table and noticed that there was a blue folder sitting in front of her. "Sit down honey."

As she sat down she looked back at Grace, who was quietly escaping up the stairs. "I can find somewhere else to stay if me being here is a problem," Zoë said quickly in an attempt to soften the blow.

Ms. Cardinal chuckled. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want Zoë. We love having you here."

A sigh of relief escaped Zoë's mouth. "Okay. So what's this about?"

Ms. Cardinal pursed her lips together and exhaled out her nose. "Zoë, it's come to my attention that you brought Rasha over last night."

Zoë was taken aback. "I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…Grace said it was okay. Did she tell you?"

She laughed. "She didn't have to. I heard you both as soon as we walked through the door."

The color drained from Zoë's face. "I-I uh…"

"Sweetie, relax. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. And I'm not saying it's a bad thing. You're seventeen and you're old enough to make those types of decisions on your own. But I do have a rule in this house that if any of my children are having sex, they need to be properly educated and safe. And I consider you like one of my own children." She reached for the folder that was in front of her.

Zoë gulped. She knew exactly where this conversation was going, and she had desperately hoped that someone would put her out of her misery.

"Now, I'm assuming your mother never gave you a proper LGBT sex talk, so I have some information here that I printed off the internet along with some pamphlets." She opened the folder. "I've had this talk with Grace and with her sister already, but your situation is a little different. I don't have any first hand experience with lesbian sex, but I have done a lot of research."

 _Kill me now,_ Zoë thought to herself.

"Here's a pamphlet that explains everything you need to know about homosexuality. Although, I'm sure you've already done some research on that, but just in case." She grabbed the packet that was behind the pamphlet. "Now, this packet will explain everything you need to know about safe sex."

"Um, I didn't think lesbians could get STI's if they're doing it with another girl," Zoë said shyly.

"Oh, they could. Anybody can get an STI. In fact, several lesbians get STI's every year because nobody talks about safe sex for two girls. This will explain all of that. For example, did you know that if you're going to have oral sex you should use a dental dam? Or that if you're using any sex toys, like a strap-on, you should always use a condom or thoroughly wash it after each use?"

Zoë smiled to herself. She was glad Tristan suggested using a condom.

"…here on page four it talks about proper cleaning and care for strap-ons, in case you need that information. And be sure to _always_ wash your hands before having sex. You have to worry about yeast infections and Urinary Tract Infections as well as STI's. And in the back of the folder is a laminated paper with some cartoon drawings that show you how to have sex, or just some new positions to try out." Ms. Cardinal looked up at Zoë. She could tell that the girl was nervous and feeling really uncomfortable. "Here, you can take the folder and look over all of this information on your own. I don't think you need me to read it to you." She smiled as she closed the folder and handed it to Zoë.

"Thanks," Zoë said as she took the folder.

"Now, I don't mean to embarrass you anymore than I already have, but have you and Rasha been tested?"

Zoë shook her head.

"Well, you're going to have to before you have sex again. That's another rule in this house. You can go see my doctor if it makes you more comfortable. She's very LGBT friendly, and she tests people all the time. You and Rasha can go together."

"Okay. Thanks Ms. Cardinal."

She smiled at Zoë. "And Zoë, I don't ever want you to feel like you can't be yourself in this house. I completely support you, and I would love to meet Rasha sometime, if you're okay with that."

Zoë smiled. She had never been accepted like that by an adult before. "I'll ask her. I'm sorry to make you have to do all of this research."

Ms. Cardinal laughed. "Actually, I did all of this research a long time ago. I always thought Grace might be gay. She told me that she wasn't, but I still kept the folder just in case."

Zoë laughed awkwardly. She didn't know if Grace told her about their brief relationship or not. "Yeah, funny how I ended up being the lesbian."

"I don't know what happened between you two, but I'm glad you're both friends again. I know Grace really missed you." She looked at her watch. "Whoops, I better be getting to work. I have the night shift today, so it looks like you and Grace are on your own for dinner tonight. I left some money for you two on the fridge." She grabbed her coat and her bag. "Do me a favor Zoë, and try to get Grace to go out more? I don't like that she coops herself up here all the time."

"Don't worry, I'm working on it."

She smiled at Zoë before leaving the house.

Zoë sighed as she smiled to herself. As much as she dreaded ever having the sex talk, she was happy that someone finally cared about her. Her mother never even explained puberty to her. When she got her first period, she had to find out that she wasn't dying from her West Drive co-star. Her _male_ co-star. She grabbed the folder and went up the stairs.

"What did my mom want?" Grace asked as Zoë walked past her room.

Zoë walked through the door and tossed the folder on the coffee table in front of the couch she was sitting on. She plopped down on the couch next to Grace.

Grace grabbed the folder and opened it up. Her eyes popped open. "My mom gave you the sex talk?!" She laughed hysterically.

"It was mortifying. She even said she heard me and Rasha _doing it_ last night."

"Well, you were pretty loud." Grace thumbed through the papers.

"Whatever. The point is, I'll never be able to look at your mom without thinking about that awkward conversation. I mean, Grace, she had to research lesbian sex. Which means she's thinking about me having sex with another girl." Zoë shivered at the thought.

"Hey, I had the sex talk too you know." She pulled out the diagram from the back. "These drawings are hilarious! Hey, maybe you and Rasha should try this one next time," she teased.

Zoë snatched the paper and stuffed it back inside the folder. "This was originally meant for you, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Your mom had this folder already. She thought you were gay and had planned to give you this sex talk."

Grace sighed. "I guess I should be used to everyone thinking that I'm gay by now."

"Well, maybe it's because of the way you dress." Zoë pointed at Grace's black shirt and combat boots."

"I like the way I dress. It feels like me."

"Yeah, you're right. I couldn't imagine you wearing anything else. Besides, you can't tell if someone is gay just by the way they look. Take me for example."

"Yeah, that Barbie pink tank top is blinding."

"Whatever. Rasha likes it and that's all I care about."

"So, do you think you guys are going to do it again?"

"I really want to. Last night was amazing. Surreal even. But your mom wants us to get tested before we have sex again."

"So take her to get tested. Just explain it to her, she'll understand. Besides, it actually is a good idea. You had that scare yesterday and you should make sure you're in the clear."

"Yeah, I'll call her later and see if she wants to go with me tomorrow." Zoë put the folder on the coffee table. "Your mom left us money for food. Want to order a pizza and binge watch The Vampire diaries?"

"Okay, but if I'm going to be forced to sit there and listen to you talk about how hot Nina Dobrev is every five seconds, then I get to pick the pizza toppings."

"Fine. But nothing with onions."

"No promises," Grace said as she picked up her phone to place the order.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! Feel free to let me know if there's anything you want to see happen with this story! I'm open to suggestions :)**


	8. The Clinic

It was Saturday afternoon. Zoë and Goldi had just finished successfully talking to all of the store and restaurant managers about their fundraiser.

"Thanks for the ride home Zoë. I'm so glad all of the stores we went to decided to help us!" Goldi said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Me too, especially The Dot. We owe Tiny big time for putting in a good word for us."

"Yeah, I already have to do Baaz's chores for two weeks for getting the game store manager on board." She opened the door and shut it "Well, I'm going to go tell Rasha that you're here. Thanks again!" she said through the open door window.

"No problem."

Zoë left her engine running as she waited for Rasha. They had planned to hang out together after she and Goldi got back, but she didn't mention anything about going to get tested. She figured that they could just get it done quickly and then go see a movie or something.

Rasha excitedly walked out the front door and got into Zoë's car. "Good afternoon Ms. President," she said all chipper. "How did it go?"

"It went really well. Everyone we talked to said that they were interested in helping us."

"That's great!" She smiled and hugged Zoë. "So, what's on the schedule for today?" she asked after breaking the hug.

Zoë put the car in reverse and slowly began to back out of the driveway. "Well, I was thinking we could go get some food, maybe get ice cream after, get tested for STIs, and see a movie," she said nonchalantly.

Rasha raised her eyebrows. "Wait, I'm sorry…did you just say get tested for STIs?"

Zoë stopped the car at the end of the driveway. "Grace's mom heard us having sex."

"You mean she heard that we had sex?"

"No, I mean she heard us while we were having sex. I guess we were being loud when she and Grace got home."

"Well, that's embarrassing."

"Not as embarrassing as the sex talk she gave me last night. She's cool with it, but she wants us to get tested to make sure we're being safe."

Rasha nodded. "Well let's go to the clinic then."

"Really?" Zoë asked surprised, "You're not weirded out or anything?"

"Honestly, I'm just glad that she accepts us. And if getting tested means that we can have sex without worrying about being caught, then I'm okay with that."

Zoë smiled. "You really are amazing, you know that?"

"I know," Rasha teased. "Now hurry up and drive. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can eat."

It took them about five minutes to get to the clinic. They walked through the doors and grabbed a couple of clipboards with forms to fill out.

"Let's sit over here." Zoë led them to a couple of chairs in the corner of the waiting room. "You know, I really hate filling out forms."

"Me too," Rasha replied as she scanned the papers. "I feel like I'm taking a test."

"Zoë?" said a familiar voice.

Zoë looked up and saw Zig, who was standing next to Esme.

"Uh, Zig. What are you doing here?"

"Esme had a doctor's appointment, so I drove her here. We just got out. What about you?"

"Well uh, we…" Zoë looked over at Rasha, who looked mortified.

Esme grabbed the clipboard out of Zoë's hands. "Aww they're getting tested for STI's. How cute. Is that what lezzies do for fun now?"

Zoë snatched the clipboard from Esme. "How would you know? I doubt you've ever been tested in your life." She turned to Zig. "You better watch out for this one Zigmund. She's probably got the clap. The skanky ones usually do."

"Oh _I'm_ the skank? You're the one who's hooked up with basically every guy at Degrassi."

"Oh, you mean like Miles and Zig? How does it feel to have my sloppy seconds?"

Zig gulped.

Esme folded her arms glared at him. "You had sexwith _her_?"

"It was one time!" He explained frantically. "And it wasn't even real sex, I swear! We were in the woods and it just sort of happened."

Esme turned back to Zoë, who was smirking. She loved it when she got to Esme.

"Well at least I actually like sex with boys like a normal girl, unlike you. Although, I can't really say that I'm surprised. It does explain your whole idiotic Degrassi Nudes plan. I bet you enjoyed looking at all of those naked pictures. In fact, I'll bet you even masturbated to them. Oh, and let's not forget about that little kiss you gave me. At first I thought you were just desperate for attention, but now I see that you actually wanted me. It's pathetic," Esme said smugly.

"You two _kissed_?!" Zig said with wide eyes.

Zoë chuckled. "Relax Zigmund. It wasn't that good. If anything, it just made me even more confused. I mean, I thought I liked girls, but that kiss was so awful that I figured, 'hmm, maybe not.' So I dated Winston. You remember, right Esme? That's how I got the part for the gala…and not you."

Esme scowled at her. "Whatever. Come on Zig. We don't want to catch their disease." She grabbed Zig's arm and yanked him out the door.

Zoë scoffed. "What a bitch. That girl has serious problems." She looked over at Rasha, who was squirming in her seat. "Hey, don't worry about it. Esme is just Esme. People at Degrassi aren't usually like that. After all, the student body did elect two gay presidents. Of course, I was still in the closet at the time, but still…"

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"I didn't know you had slept with that many people."

"Oh." Zoë slowly shrugged. "I didn't think you wanted the details."

"So, how many people have you had sex with?"

"Well, first there was Drew, and then Zig and Miles. And then, you know…Grace."

"You never hooked up with Winston?"

Zoë snorted. "God no! I could barely even kiss Winston. I mean, no offense to him, but after kissing girls and realizing that I was gay, it was hard to get into kissing boys. It felt weird."

"By girls you mean Grace…and Esme? I didn't know you liked her."

"I didn't," Zoë said quickly. "I had just been dumped by Grace and I was coming to terms with the fact that maybe I liked girls. Esme was messing with me, trying to get into my head so she could win the spot in the gala. Since getting the role meant having to kiss Winston, I clearly tanked the audition. I saw that she got a callback, so I asked her to show me how she auditioned. We ended up kissing, since it was in the script. That's it."

"And did you like it?"

"Well, yeah. But not because I liked Esme, but just because I was kissing a girl. My body just kind of reacted to it. I can't help that."

"Is that when you knew you were gay?"

Zoë paused before answering. "I guess so. With Grace, I knew I liked her. But I just kind of told myself that the only reason I liked her was because she liked me. Turns out she never liked me and I just saw what I wanted to see. But then when Esme and I kissed, somewhere deep down I knew it wasn't just that I liked Grace, but that I liked girls."

"So if you knew you were gay then why did you date Winston?"

She hesitated before answering. "This is going to sound awful, but at first it was just because I knew he liked me, and I really wanted that spot in the gala. I knew if Winston and I were dating, that I would get it for sure. After the gala, I kept it going because I wanted to make myself straight. I had to be. I knew my mom would never accept me and to be honest, I couldn't even accept myself. But it was too hard. I realized that it was better to be happy with a girl than to be depressed with a boy, no matter what people thought."

"And are you? Happy, I mean."

Zoë smiled and grabbed Rasha's hand. "Very."

Rasha blushed. She looked down at the clipboard in her lap. "We better finish filling out these forms."

* * *

The girls left the clinic and got in the car.

"Well, that took forever." Rasha said as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Agreed. I can't believe we have to wait at least a week to get the results. I doubt Grace's mom will let us have any sleepovers before then."

"Maybe not." Rasha smirked, "But that doesn't mean we can't do other things."

Zoë smiled. "Oh? Like what?"

Rasha leaned over towards her girlfriend. "Like this." She softly kissed all the way up her neck to her ear, forcing a shiver from the girl.

"Ugh, I want you so bad."

Rasha smiled and pulled away. "I know, me too. But we can't do anything here in front of the clinic with all of these cars around."

Zoë smiled as an idea hit her. "Maybe not, but I know somewhere else we can go." She gave a devilish grin. She turned the car on and quickly backed out of the parking spot.

Rasha had no idea where Zoë was taking her, but she trusted her girlfriend enough to not question it.

She pulled her tiny red car into a deserted parking lot.

"What is this place?" Rasha asked.

"It used to be a school called Lakehurst. It burnt down back in 2006, but they never re-built anything on the land. So now it's just a deserted place that some students go to when they don't want anyone to see what they're doing."

"It's kind of creepy," Rasha said as she stared at the abandoned, burnt down building.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But, it's also kind of romantic." She leaned over and continued where she left off; kissing Zoë's neck.

A few moans escaped the brunette's mouth. "Do you, um…want to move this to the back seat?"

Rasha pulled back and gave a sweet smile. She unbuckled her seatbelt. Zoë grinned and followed suit. The girls got out of their seats and folded them down to get into the back before shutting the doors.

Zoë leaned over and hungrily smashed her lips against Rasha's. "I've missed this," she whispered as she continued to kiss the short-haired girl. She slowly pushed her girlfriend down as she crawled on top of her."

"Wait, my leg is stuck." She struggled to move it out from under Zoë.

"Oh, sorry," Zoë sat up and hit her head on the ceiling. "Ow! Fuck!"

Rasha giggled as she watched Zoë massage her head.

Zoë sighed. "I don't mean to sound like a spoiled brat, but I really wish I had a car with a bigger back seat."

"I don't know, I kind of like the coziness of it," Rasha said while looking around the small space.

"Well I've never made out with anyone in the backseat of a car, but I don't think it's supposed to be this hard."

"I've never done it either."

The corner of Zoë's mouth curled up. "Well, let's change that." She carefully leaned down on top of Rasha. "Is this okay?"

She nodded and smiled before grabbing the back of Zoë's neck and pulling her into a kiss.

They kissed slowly for a couple of minutes before it became more heated. Both girls began to grind their centers together. Zoë reached her hand down and touched the crotch of Rasha's pants. "God, I can feel the wetness through your jeans."

"Well maybe you should do something about it," she whispered into Zoë's ear.

Zoë unbuttoned Rasha's jeans and slid her hand down her pants. "Oh my god. I've never felt you this wet before."

Rasha moaned. "Well, you look sexy in those skinny jeans. You really turn me on."

Zoë blushed. "Oh yeah? How about when I do this." She pressed her fingers against Rasha's clit, causing her to let out a deep, guttural moan. "I'll take that as a yes." She kissed the Syrian's neck as she strategically moved her fingers. Rasha grabbed Zoë's ass and pulled her into her body, forcing more pressure against her center. She grinded her hips back and forth as her girlfriend massaged her clit.

"Ugh," she moaned as she felt her body tense up. She moved her hips faster against Zoë's hand. "Oh god," she closed her eyes as she felt the energy rush to her core. She held onto Zoë's body until her orgasm subsided. She dropped her head on the seat and sighed. "That was good."

Zoë kissed her nose. "Your face is so cute when you have an orgasm."

Rasha blushed. "Shut up!" She covered her face.

"No, seriously," Zoë laughed. "You squeeze your eyes shut and scrunch your nose. It's adorable."

Rasha sat up. "Well let's see what your face does." She repositioned herself so that she was free from Zoë's body and pushed her girlfriend down onto her back.

"Please do." She spread her legs and looked down at her center, then back up at Rasha.

Rasha unbuttoned Zoë's jeans and struggled to get her hand inside. "As much as I love the way your butt looks in these jeans, they're too tight for me to do anything."

Zoë lifted her hips up and pushed her jeans and panties down her legs, exposing her bare center. She spread her legs to give better access. "Better?"

Rasha stared at her girlfriend's body. She hesitantly pulled Zoë's shirt up over her head, revealing her bright pink bra. She placed her hands on Zoë's collarbone and slowly slid them down her body, feeling every inch. "How can someone be this gorgeous." She moved her hands slowly up and down Zoë's thighs, getting the girl worked up.

"Rasha, please."

"Please what?" She said, slowly moving her hands up to just below Zoë's center, and then back down.

Zoë sighed. "You know what."

Rasha shook her head as she repeated the movement.

"Seriously?"

She shrugged.

"Fine. I want you to touch me."

"I am touching you."

"Rasha!"

"I want to hear you say it."

Zoë rolled her eyes. "Rasha," she looked lustily into the girl's dark brown eyes, "I want you to fuck me. I want you to fuck me hard until my legs start shaking from an intense orgasm."

Rasha moved her hands up once more, this time pushing two fingers inside Zoë.

"Ungh," Zoë shut her eyes and held onto the grab handle strap behind her. Rasha dipped her head down and connected her tongue with Zoë's clit as she continued to pump her fingers.

"Shit. God you're so good at that." She reached down and pushed the back of Rasha's head harder into her center as she rocked her hips. "Faster," she demanded.

The short-haired girl moved her fingers faster and harder inside Zoë as her tongue vigorously moved in circles.

"Oh yeah, don't stop. Fuck me Rasha. You're gonna make me cum." Zoë pulled the grab handle as hard as she could as her abdomen tensed up. "UNGHHHHH!" she screamed. Rasha continued to pump her fingers until she felt Zoë's body go limp.

Rasha smiled. "Yep, just as I suspected."

"What?" she said as she gasped for air.

"You have a cute orgasm face too," she teased.

Zoë shook her head. "I figured you were too busy to notice." She flexed her hand muscles from gripping the strap so tight.

"Yeah right."

Zoë looked around and started laughing.

"What are you laughing at weirdo?"

We fogged the windows up.

Rasha looked around and noticed that every single piece of glass was completely fogged up. "Well I guess now we know for sure that nobody saw us."

"Like we were worried about that. Seriously, who's going to be here on a late Saturday afternoon?"

 _Knock knock knock_

Zoë shot up and saw a silhouette standing outside the driver's side door. " _Shit!"_ She frantically pulled her jeans up and grabbed her shirt as Rasha buttoned her pants. "Who do you think that is?" she whispered as she threw her shirt over her head.

"I have no idea," Rasha whispered back.

"Well, what if it's a burglar or something? Maybe we should just ignore it. Besides, they don't even know we're in here."

"Uh, I think the foggy windows are a clue that someone is in here."

 _Knock knock knock_

"Hello? I know you're in there," said the man outside the door. "It's the police. Open up."

Zoë looked at Rasha, who looked petrified. "Uh, yeah. Just give me one sec." She pulled the driver's seat up and hopped over the folded passenger's seat. She slowly rolled down the window, revealing an older looking man in uniform.

"Uh, hello officer. Is there a problem?"

"Do you know that this is private property? By parking your car here, you're illegally trespassing."

"I'm sorry sir, I had no idea."

"You're lucky I checked to see if someone was in here. They were about to tow the car, but I said that kids are always parking their cars here and getting into trouble." He noticed her disheveled hair. "I see I was right as you and your boy-" He looked in the back seat of the car and saw Rasha sitting there, quietly. He cocked his head to the side. "Oh, uh, my mistake girls. I thought you were a couple."

Zoë rolled her eyes. "We _are_ a couple. And yes, we were having sex back here. So are you going to arrest us or something?"

He cleared his throat as he looked at the two girls, clearly feeling awkward. "No, uh, I don't think that's necessary. I'm just going to let you off with a warning. Just make sure you stay off private property from now on, okay? And don't come back here again." He tilted the brim of his hat and walked off towards his squad car.

Zoë rolled the window up as Rasha opened the door to get into the front seat. "What was that?"

"I don't know, some idiot cop."

"No, I mean you."

Zoë furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Did you have to embarrass us like that? He had no idea what we were doing until you outed us."

"Well I'm sorry if I'm tired of people thinking that two girls can't be together."

"What if we had gotten arrested? If the Nahirs find out that we're together, they could kick me out. And if not for that, they'd definitely kick me out for getting arrested."

"Well he was acting like it was so crazy that we were a couple."

"Not everything has to be about us being gay, Zoë. Or is your pride just that important to you?"

"Look, I'm sorry. I just feel like I'm constantly having to prove myself. People think that just because I have long hair and like to wear makeup that I can't like girls. It just gets frustrating when people assume things about me. I mean, even my own mother thinks I'm just pretending to be a lesbian for attention all because of the way I look. Why can't I just be a girl who likes girls without all of these stereotypes getting in the way?"

Rasha sighed. "I get it. It was the same for me back home. Guys would always ask me out on dates, and my friends didn't believe me when I came out to them. I was so sick of it that I decided to cut my hair. It was…freeing." She grabbed Zoë's hands. "Look, I love who I am. And I'm not ashamed of being gay or anything. Back home I was out to all of my friends and family and I could freely be myself. But I've learned in my past experiences that there are certain situations where it's unsafe for people to know. And if I were in a situation where I could be out then I would totally be right there with you shouting it from the rooftops. But I can't. The Nahirs are my home now, and I can't risk getting kicked out."

"I wish everything was different. That it didn't have to be this big thing. Why is it such a big deal to other people who I'm with?"

Rasha smiled. "It will only get better from here. The world is becoming a more accepting place."

Zoë turned the key in the ignition. "I'm glad I have you." She smiled. "Now let's go eat. You made me hungry."


	9. High School Musical

"I can't believe you thought our waitress was straight," Zoë said as she walked through the front door of the Cardinal house.

"She was!" Rasha followed behind.

"Nuh uh, totally gay." She placed her keys on the hook by the front door.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because my gaydar never misses."

"Didn't you say that the reason why you tried to set me up with Winston was because you didn't know I was gay?" Rasha folded her arms.

"Well, at first I thought you were gay, but then Goldi said Muslims can't be gay, so I doubted myself."

"And what do you think now?"

She took a step towards Rasha and grabbed her hips. "That you're extremely gay."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." She leaned in and kissed her girlfriend.

Ms. Cardinal's heels clacked on the wood floor at the bottom of the stairs, startling Zoë and Rasha. They quickly pulled away.

"Sorry girls, I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just on my way out to meet up with some co-workers of mine."

Zoë nodded. "Um, Ms. Cardinal, this is Rasha. My…girlfriend."

"Hey Rasha, it's nice to finally meet you."

"You too." They shook hands.

"I hope it's okay that I brought her over," Zoë said nervously.

"Of course it is. You're welcome to come over any time Rasha." She smiled at the girls. "Well, I better get going. Have a good night," she said before walking out the front door.

"She seems cool," Rasha said.

"She is." Zoë smiled.

Grace hopped down the stairs. "I thought I heard you guys come in. Did you enjoy your date?"

"We did," Zoë said as she looked at Rasha.

"Did you bring me back some food?"

"Duh." Zoë handed her a Styrofoam to-go box.

"Sweet." Grace grabbed the box and walked over to the kitchen.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Rasha said, smiling at Zoë before walking away.

Zoë walked into the kitchen and sat down at the island.

Grace took a fork from the silverware drawer before pushing it shut. "So, where did you guys do it this time?" She leaned over the island across from Zoë as she took a bite of her pasta.

Zoë raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to one side. "Do what?"

"I mean, you guys obviously had sex." She shoveled another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

"Why do you say that?"

She gave Zoë a knowing look. "Zoë, I can smell it."

"Nuh uh!" She began to frantically sniff her shirt.

Grace shook her head. "So, are you going to spill or what?"

"Fine. We did it in the backseat of my car."

"Kinky." She took another bite of pasta. "Your car is tiny though."

"Tell me about it." She rubbed the side of her neck, massaging the sore muscle.

"So what's the plan for tonight?"

"We're going to watch High School Musical. Do you want to watch it with us?"

"Sure. I've never seen it before though."

"Well, you're in for a treat then!" Zoë said excitedly. "This is going to be so much fun!" She squealed.

"Yay," Grace said, a little less enthused.

* * *

Zoë and Rasha sang simultaneously, " _No no no! Stick to the stuff you know! If you wanna be cool follow one simple rule don't mess with the flow no no! Stick to the status quo!"_ The girls looked at each other and laughed.

Grace pressed her fingers hard against her temples. "Okay, I can't take this anymore." She got up off the couch. "Sorry guys. I tried. As much fun as it is to watch high school students magically perform perfectly synchronized song and dance routines, I have better things to do." She grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl in Zoë's lap and walked towards the stairs.

"But don't you want to know if Troy and Gabriella end up together?" Zoë asked.

"Not really," she said as she continued up the stairs.

"Your loss!" Zoë shouted.

Rasha ate some popcorn and smiled at Zoë.

"What?" Zoë chuckled.

"I like this. Sitting here, watching this with you. Singing along to perfectly synchronized song and dance routines," she nudged Zoë's elbow.

Zoë giggled. "Yeah well, I figured we could finally watch this movie together since we missed it for our first date," she said only half teasing.

Rasha's face softened in guilt. "I'm sorry about that. I should've just walked out of The Dot and met up with you. But instead I was so worried about what Baaz would say. It's so stupid now."

"It's okay. To be honest, I would've just spent the whole night thinking about kissing you and being too afraid to do so."

"You mean like this?" Rasha leaned in and softly kissed Zoë's lips for a quick second before pulling away.

Zoë smiled. "Like that."

Rasha smiled back before taking some more popcorn. "So, did you have a huge crush on Gabriella when you were younger like I did?" She put a piece of popcorn in her mouth.

"Actually, I had a crush on Troy. But looking back now, I don't think it was a real crush. I think I just liked him because I was supposed to."

"That makes sense. It's hard to figure out what you really like when we're told our whole lives that we're supposed to find a prince charming who will sweep us off our feet."

"Yeah, exactly. Nobody said I was going to find a princess charming." Her mouth curved into a soft smile.

Rasha smiled. "You're the real princess here. High maintenance and everything."

"Hey!" Zoë hit Rasha's knee. Both girls laughed for a few seconds before going silent. "So, you never told me your coming out story." She set the popcorn bowl down on the coffee table and turned to Rasha, giving her full attention.

"It's not all that exciting."

"Oh come on. I wanna hear it." She nudged Rasha's arm. "How did you know that you liked girls?"

"Well, I guess ever since I was really young I always wanted to be around girls more than boys. Not that I never had friends that were boys, but it was just different. For me, being around boys was simple and easy. But being around girls was exciting. It wasn't until a little over a year ago that I realized I was romantically attracted to girls."

"What made you realize that?" Zoë asked attentively.

She thought about it for a moment. "I was watching an Arab movie with one of my friends. I think he thought it was a date, but I had no idea he even liked me in that way. He kept trying to hold my hand and stuff, but I didn't want to. Eventually I got so annoyed that I snapped at him and told him I was trying to watch the movie. He got mad at me and told me that I was more interested in watching the girl on the screen than talking to him. I'm sure he only said it to get to me, but in that moment I thought to myself, 'He's right.' That's when I realized that I was always watching girls more than boys. After that, I starting noticing things about myself. Things that I never really thought about before. Like how I would always want to hug my girl friends for a little longer than I probably should have. Or how I would always find excuses to hold their hands." She paused. "Then I met Rima."

"Rima?" Zoë interjected.

"She was this girl at my school. She was so pretty. She had long, dark hair and light brown eyes. We had one class together and I sat next to her. Every day on my way to class I would get really nervous because I knew I was going to see her. My palms would get all sweaty and my heart would beat so fast that I felt like I was going to pass out. Whenever she would talk to me I'd get butterflies in my stomach. I never felt that around anyone, especially not around boys. I would spend the whole class just watching her, and I never got bored. That's when I knew for sure that I liked girls."

"So what happened to her?"

"Well, she eventually moved away. I never told her how I felt, but it wouldn't have mattered anyways. She had a boyfriend."

Zoë nodded. "What happened after that?"

"Well, I spent half a year trying not to be attracted to girls. I knew I didn't like boys, and I was okay with that. But liking girls? It terrified me. Especially since people in Syria aren't as accepting as people are here. But it didn't work. I just couldn't help that I was sexually attracted to girls. I eventually just accepted it. That's when I developed a crush on my best friend. I didn't want to be a coward this time, so I told her that I had feelings for her. I was so scared that I was shaking. I had expected her to yell at me or to never speak to me again, but instead she just smiled at me and told me that she had a feeling that I liked her. Turned out she had been waiting for me to come out to her for awhile. I guess she knew before I even did."

"Sometimes other people see the things about us that we're too scared to see."

Rasha nodded. "She told me that she liked boys, but that our friendship wouldn't change. She loved me for who I was. I quickly got over my crush on her. I would have rather had her as a best friend than as a girlfriend anyways. She helped me to not be so afraid of who I was, and eventually I told my other friends. A couple of them stopped talking to me, but for the most part everyone was supportive."

"Wow. That must have been hard. I can't imagine losing any friends. My biggest fear before coming out was that people would hate me, but everyone has been so nice about it. Except my mom, but who needs her."

"It was hard knowing that someone didn't want to be my friend because of something I didn't choose and couldn't change, but at the end of the day I wouldn't want anyone in my life who doesn't like me for who I am."

Zoë nodded and looked away, thinking about her mom.

Rasha noticed Zoë's change in mood. "So, how is your mom?"

"Well, she hasn't talked to me since the wedding. I doubt she even knows where I'm staying, nor does she care. It sucks, but I don't need her." She tried to hold back the tears, but Rasha noticed her watery eyes.

"I'm really sorry Zoë," she said sincerely as she put her hand on top of Zoë's. "I wish your mom could be more accepting. Maybe she'll come around?"

Zoë quickly wiped her eyes and forced a smile. "It's whatever. I'll be fine." She pulled her hand away. "So, do your parents know?"

"My mom does."

"How did she take it?"

"She cried, a lot. But I think deep down she always knew. She didn't like it at first, but she knew that I couldn't change my feelings. She just wants me to be happy, and I've been much happier ever since I came out. My dad doesn't know though. My mom thought it would be best if I didn't tell him for awhile. He has very strong beliefs. My mom's side of the family knows. For the most part, they're pretty accepting. One of my cousins even tried to set me up with one of her girl friends."

Zoë chuckled. "That's actually really sweet."

"It is," Rasha smiled and shook her head thinking about it. "The only person who had a problem with it was my aunt. You know, the one that had reported me for being gay. She's my mom's sister-in-law, and she's a lot more conservative than the rest of the family."

"I can't believe she would do that to you. Were you scared?"

"Honestly, I was terrified. I thought I was going to go to jail or something. But I hadn't even done anything wrong."

"Well, nobody here is going to put you in jail for being gay."

"That's why I came here, for a better chance at life. I miss my family and my friends so much, but coming here has been one of the best things that's happened to me."

"You coming here has been one of the best things that's happened to me too," she smiled. She leaned in and kissed Rasha.

"Hey, you know, we've missed a lot of this movie," Rasha said, pointing at the TV.

Zoë looked at the screen. "You know what?" She looked back at Rasha, "Suddenly, I'm not that interested in watching a movie."

Rasha wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Me neither."

The girls continued kissing. Zoë leaned over on top of Rasha, pushing her down until her head rested on the arm of the couch. After a few minutes, Zoë broke from the kiss. "Hey, do you want to sleep over tonight? We don't have to do anything. We can just sleep. I just want to be with you."

Rasha nodded. "I'll have to go grab some things from Goldi's though."

"I'll take you."

Zoë got up from on top of Rasha and held her hand out to assist her. Rasha took Zoë's hand and pulled herself up. The girls walked towards the front door to put on their jackets. "I'm going to go tell Grace that we're leaving." She handed the keys to Rasha. "You can go ahead and start the car." She ran up the stairs to Grace's room and heard her talking on the phone to someone.

"…so, do you want to go bowling tonight? Or are you too embarrassed about me beating you at mini golf that all games are off the table?" She paused for a few moments. "Oh, is that a challenge? Okay rocker boy, I guess we'll see tonight."

Zoë smiled at the conversation. She knocked on the open door to let Grace know that she was standing there.

Grace spun around in her desk chair and looked at her.

"Hey, sorry," Zoë whispered.

"Give me a sec," she said into the phone before taking it away from her ear. "What's up?"

"Rasha's spending the night. We're going to grab her stuff from her place real quick and then we're coming back. Just wanted to let you know."

"Okay, cool."

Zoë smirked and folded her arms. "Is that _Jonah_?"

Grace rolled her eyes.

"Oh my god, you have a date!"

"Shut up!"

"What?" said Jonah over the phone.

"Uh nothing. I'm talking to Zoë," Grace said.

"Oh okay. Hey Zoë!" Jonah yelled loud enough for Zoë to hear.

"Hey Jonah," she yelled back before giving Grace a knowing look.

"Zoë was just leaving." She waved towards the door, signaling Zoë to leave.

"Fine," she rolled her eyes and unfolded her arms, "but I want to hear all about it." She walked down the stairs and out the door. When she got to the car, she opened the door and plopped down into the driver's seat. "Grace and Jonah are going on a date tonight," she said excitedly to Rasha as she buckled her seatbelt.

"It's about time. Those two have been inseparable at school lately."

"I agree. I'm really happy for her. She deserves to be happy with someone."

"Yeah, she's a good friend," Rasha smiled.

After a few minutes of driving, Zoë finally reached Goldi's house. She pulled her car up in the driveway and parked in front of the garage.

"Do you want to come inside with me?" Rasha asked.

"Yeah, sure."

The girls got out of the car and went inside the house. They walked through the front door and noticed that the downstairs was empty. Rasha turned on the light by the door.

"I guess Mr. and Mrs. Nahir aren't home," Rasha said as she walked towards the dark living room. "I'm going to run upstairs and grab my things." She began to walk away, but Zoë grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"But first…" she pulled Rasha's face into her own and smashed their lips together. Rasha smiled into the kiss.

"I could kiss you forever," Rasha whispered before continuing the kiss.

The girls noticed the living room light turn on. Rasha jumped and turned around.

"Rasha?" said Baaz. He stepped closer to see who she was standing next to. " _Zoë_? …wait, were you two just…?" He smiled and put his hands in the pockets of his khaki pants. "Well, now a lot of things make sense."

"Baaz!" Rasha said frantically. "We were just…Zoë was…helping me…um…" she looked back at Zoë, desperate for help.

He laughed. "Let me guess, you were just making out in our living room?"

"Please don't tell your parents. I don't want them to find out that I'm gay. They could kick me out," she said with worry in her voice.

Baaz noticed her panicked tone. "Hey hey, don't worry. I won't tell them, I promise. But I don't think they'll kick you out. I mean, they're okay with Vijay. They've never said anything to him, and they know he's gay. They even let him sleep over here."

"Yeah but he's not living with you. Just because you're accepting of gay people doesn't mean your parents are. Even Goldi is still trying to accept it."

"Wait, Goldi has a problem with you being gay?"

Rasha sighed. "I don't know. She keeps saying that she wants me to be happy, but it doesn't feel that way. She acts weird around me."

He shook his head. "Goldi has always been in her own world when it comes to her beliefs. Our parents may have raised us to be Muslim, but they never taught us to follow the laws of the Qur'an word for word. That's just something Goldi does on her own. They don't even make her wear her hijab. If anything, they taught us to love everyone and to show kindness towards others, even those that are different from us. If they found out about you and Zoë, I really doubt they would have a big problem with it."

"But still, you never know how someone is going to react. I learned that the hard way back home. I can't risk it."

He nodded. "Well, your secret's safe with me." He looked at the girls and smirked. "And, if you two ever decide to have a make out session in our living room again, feel free to give me a heads up." He winked.

Zoë squinted her eyes and folded her arms. "Dream on geek."

"Hey, it was worth a shot," he chuckled. "But seriously, you guys have my full support. And if anyone gives you any problems, I'll back you up." He turned around and went up the stairs.

"Wow, I can't believe how nice Baaz actually is," Rasha said as she walked over to the couch and plopped down.

"Yeah, he's actually a good guy," Zoë said as she sat down next to her.

"I wish Goldi was more accepting like that."

"Yeah, what were you talking about back there? I thought she was okay with us. Didn't she say that our love was no different than anyone else's and we deserved to be together after that one play rehearsal?"

"Yeah, she did say that. And she says that she's not weirded out by me and that she accepts me, but it still feels like she's not okay with it. She gives me these weird looks whenever I talk about you, and she won't even change into her pajamas in front of me anymore. She says one thing, but her body language says another. I just hate that sometimes she makes me feel like I'm a freak."

"Maybe she just needs time. You had your time with it, and now she needs hers."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. I just don't want to lose another friend over it. Especially a friend that I have to share a room with." She stood up from the couch. "I'm going to go get my things. You can wait for me here if you want. I'll only be a couple of minutes."

"Okay." Zoë pulled out her phone and opened Hastygram as Rasha went up the stairs.

She walked into the room that she shared with Goldi, who was sitting on her bed reading a book. "Hey Goldi."

"Oh hey Rasha! You're back sooner than I had expected," she sat up.

"Actually, Zoë invited me to spend the night with her. Do you think your parents would be okay with that?"

Goldi smiled disappointedly. "Sure, it should be fine. I was hoping we could watch a movie tonight though."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rasha said guiltily. "Hey, I'll tell you what, how about I come back tomorrow after breakfast and we can spend the whole Sunday together binging on Friends?"

Goldi perked up. "That sounds good," she said excitedly.

"Great! It's a date." Rasha grabbed her empty backpack and began stuffing it with clothes.

"My first date! How exciting!" Goldi teased.

Rasha rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean, goofy." She threw a shirt at her friend. She zipped up her backpack and sat down on the bed next to it. "So, is it hard for you not being able to date?"

Goldi folded the shirt Rasha threw at her and placed it on the bed in front of her. "Sometimes it's hard to see our friends going out, having fun, holding hands. Sometimes I really want that with someone. But at the end of the day, my religion is the most important thing to me. And being closer to God makes me happier than anything in this world."

Rasha smiled and nodded. "Well, I'm glad that you're happy."

She smiled at Rasha. "I am happy. And I'm glad you're happy too."

"You really mean that?"

She hesitated for a short second before answering. "I just want you to have a good life, and I want what's best for you."

"Well I can't imagine life getting any better than this. I've got a beautiful girlfriend and a best friend who loves me for who I am. What more could a girl want?"

Goldi gave a weak smile. "You betcha." She went back to reading her book.

"So, do you think your parents would be okay with me being gay?"

Goldi quickly looked up from her book. "Why? Are you going to tell them?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm considering it. I don't want them to kick me out though."

"Well, they might. I don't know how they'll take it to be honest. But you shouldn't tell them anything just yet. Play it cool for a little longer until you're completely sure that this is what you want."

Rasha tilted her head. "Until I'm sure of _what_ exactly?"

"You know, that you want to be with Zoë."

She bit her lower lip, clearly offended. "That I want to be with Zoë? Or that I'm gay."

"Aren't they the same thing?"

Rasha huffed in disbelief. "No Goldi, they're not." She stood up and grabbed her backpack. "I'm going to get my toothbrush from the bathroom and then I'm leaving."

"Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow then for our Friends marathon?"

She pressed her tongue hard against her top teeth and slowly shook her head. "If you're sure that's what you want." She walked out of their bedroom as Baaz walked in.

"See ya Rasha," he said.

"Bye Baaz."

He sat down at the foot of Goldi's bed. "So, Rasha's a lesbian?"

Her eyes widened. "How did you find out?"

"I saw her and Zoë kissing downstairs."

She scoffed. "Well, I guess now you know. She likes girls."

"You know, I actually kind of suspected."

"You did?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, she just kind of gives off that vibe. Besides, she and Zoë have been hanging out a lot lately. It just kind of made sense."

"Well, you're more observant than I am, because I had no clue."

"I think sometimes you just see what you want to see. A nice, heterosexual Muslim girl who follows the Qur'an to a tee. You know, like you," he teased.

"Is it so wrong that for once I want a friend who is just like me?"

"No, but sometimes you can be a little judgmental when someone isn't like you."

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is! Tell me, what was your reaction when she told you about her and Zoë?"

Goldi thought about it for a second, "Well, I was honest with her. I told her that it's a sin."

"See, that right there is what I'm talking about."

"That's not being judgmental, that's just being honest. Homosexuality _is_ a sin. It says it right there in the Qur'an."

"Just because you believe something doesn't mean that it applies to the rest of the world. These are _your_ beliefs. It's something you choose to believe in. Rasha's feelings for Zoë are very real to her. Don't you think it's hard enough for her without you making it worse?"

"How am I making it worse?" She asked strongly. "I told her that she deserves to be happy with Zoë and that it's not up to me to decide that it's wrong. But that doesn't change the fact that it _is_ wrong, and eventually she's going to see that."

"Oh well you're really just the epitome of acceptance aren't you?" Baaz said sarcastically.

She pursed her lips in frustration. "I've asked her questions about her love life and tried to understand it better. I haven't said anything negative to her about it. I've only ever said positive things. I'm trying to be a good friend."

"Yeah well you have a habit of saying one thing and meaning another. Kind of like how you keep saying that you're okay with losing the presidency again, when clearly you're not."

"I just don't get why she's making everything so hard for herself. Just because she likes Zoë doesn't mean she has to date her. It's not too late for Rasha. She's only sixteen. She still has plenty of time to find a Muslim man to marry. Just because she likes girls doesn't mean she has to completely rule out all guys."

"Are you serious right now?" Baaz exclaimed in disbelief. "Do you honestly think that Rasha is going to be happy with some guy? It's not like choosing to eat a salad when you're craving pizza. This isn't a choice for her Goldi. This is who she is. It's a part of her identity."

"What do you know Baaz? You barely even talk to Rasha. You didn't even know she was gay until five minutes ago!"

"Yeah, and I saw how terrified she was when I caught her and Zoë together. Rasha is one of the bravest people I know. She always goes after what she wants, but this was something else. I've never seen her so scared. She's been through a lot back home."

"That's not my fault though. I'm not the one who made her scared of it."

"But you didn't help her either! You're her best friend, and instead of comforting her and making her feel safe, you just made her feel like she was doing something wrong. Like being herself is wrong."

Goldi shook her head. "You don't know what it's like to find out that your best friend is gay."

"Of course I do! Remember Vijay? My best friend since grade four? He came out to me when we were thirteen."

"And what did you say?"

"I hugged him and told him that everything was going to be okay, and that he should never feel bad about being himself."

"And it was just that easy for you? Accepting that he was going against what the Qur'an says?"

"Yes. Because I could see in his eyes that this was something that he had no control over. This is his reality, just like being Muslim is ours. And me telling him that being gay is wrong would be like him telling me that being Muslim is wrong."

She shook her head. "That's not the same thing."

"No, because we can actually choose whether or not we want to be Muslim. You know why Vijay isn't afraid to be himself? Because he has his friends by his side for support. Goldi, you can support Rasha without breaking any rules."

"I do support her."

"No, you just tolerate her."

"What do you want me to do, Baaz? Do you want me to give her a medal for being a lesbian?"

"I want you to tell her that you're okay with who she is and actually mean it, and to stop acting like she's done something really horrible, because your approval is the only one that's really important to her right now."

"Look, I love Rasha. And I truly do want her to be happy, I do. But it's hard for me. Every time I see her with Zoë I just think about how she's going against God's plan."

"How do you know what God wants?"

"Because it's all written right here." She grabbed her Qur'an off of her night table and held it up.

He took the Qur'an out of her hand and looked at it. "I'm not an expert in deciphering the word of God, but maybe these laws weren't meant to last forever." He handed the book back to her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the Qur'an says one thing, but science says another. I know that people don't choose to be gay. Why would anyone choose such a hard life? Rasha, Vijay, Zoë, Tristan…they can't help what they like. Why would God make them only attracted to the same sex, and then punish them for acting on it?"

"I…I don't know."

"You know what I think? I think that maybe you're afraid that if you don't follow every single rule in the Qur'an then you'll go to Hell. And so you're projecting that fear onto Rasha. But you need to put yourself in her shoes. You might think that being gay is a sin, but so is lying. Would you rather her live a lie for the rest of her life? Do you really think that would be better? Or better yet, do you think that all of our friends at Degrassi are sinners because they're dating before marriage? Do you think all of the girls who willingly touch boys are going to Hell?"

"I don't know. I guess," she said with little confidence.

"And what about me? I certainly don't follow everything in the Qur'an, nor do mom and dad. And what about you?"

"What about me?" she interjected.

"Those tight jeans that you're wearing aren't really proper Muslim attire. So where is the line drawn Goldi? We all sin. But Rasha's the only one you've ever treated differently for it. Why is that?" He stood up and walked towards the door. He stopped halfway and turned around. "Did you know that she thinks that mom and dad will kick her out for dating Zoë? You and I both know that they wouldn't do that. But still, she's afraid that they'll reject her. Where do you think she gets that from?" He walked out of her room and shut the door behind him.

She grabbed the shirt off her bed and threw it over onto Rasha's side of the room in frustration. She took the Qur'an and hugged it tightly into her chest and sighed as the tears began to roll down her face. She looked over at Rasha's dresser and noticed all of the pictures of her and her friends from Syria. She stood up and walked over to the pictures. She picked one up and looked at it. It was a picture of Rasha and her best friend from Syria sitting on a grassy hill, smiling for the camera. You could tell that they were really close. Goldi smiled and set the frame back down. She looked at the picture next to it and saw that it was a selfie of Rasha and Zoë at the movie theater. Rasha was smiling harder in this picture than in any of her other pictures. She genuinely looked happy. Goldi picked up the picture frame and accidentally knocked a book off in the process. It landed on the floor, opened with the pages facing up. Goldi bent over to pick it up and noticed that it was some sort of journal. She saw her name on the page and began to read it.

 _Zoë is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've never been so happy with anyone before. I really think she could be the one. I just wish Goldi could accept us…I wish she could accept me. She says she's okay with it, but she still acts like I'm diseased or something. Everyone else has been accepting of me, but she makes me feel like something is wrong with me. She gives me weird looks whenever I talk about Zoë, and she goes to the bathroom to change her clothes. She never did those things before she knew that I liked girls. It's obvious that I make her uncomfortable. I wish she could just accept me and understand that I can't help it, no matter how hard I've tried. Sometimes I wish I could be straight, but I know that just isn't going to happen. I've lost a couple of friends over it, and even my aunt tried to get me arrested for it. At least my close friends in Syria have been supportive of me. My best friend from back home always made me feel like a normal person. But Goldi just silently judges me. I love her, and I think we could be really good friends, but I don't think she can handle me being different than her. She wants me to be something I'm not. She says she wants me to be happy, but I think the truth is that she wants me to be a perfect Muslim like she is, no matter how unhappy it makes me in the process. I don't know if I can be the person she wants me to be. I wish my friends from Syria were here. They wouldn't make me feel so alone. But for now, all I can hope is that Goldi will come around one day. If not, I don't know how we can ever be friends. Maybe it's time to accept that maybe we weren't meant to be._

Goldi closed the journal and gently put it back on the dresser. She had no idea how hurt Rasha was, and it was all because of her. Maybe Baaz was right. This whole time she thought that she was protecting Rasha, but maybe she was just afraid that if she accepted that Rasha was gay then that would make her a bad Muslim herself. But maybe she can truly accept that this is who Rasha is, and that it has nothing to do with her own faith. She never wanted to push Rasha away.

She looked at the pictures again and realized that Rasha had never smiled that much when she was with her. _What am I doing?_ She thought to herself.


End file.
